A Small Light in a Dark World
by IDRKwhatTOnameMYSELF
Summary: Mitchsen AU, but follows along the plot of The Walking Dead: The Final Season game. Beca and Stacie find themselves looking for a place to call home in a world that has fallen apart. They encounter many troubles along the way, but also new opportunities. What happens when they finally find a home? What happens when they find more than a home? A family... love. Rated M just in case.
1. Joy Ride

**A/N: This is my very first fanfic, so I'm sorry if it's not the best. I've been reading Pitch Perfect fanfic for over a year, and decided to write my own. It might be a little risky to start with a multi-chapter story, but screw it. I will happily take constructive criticism: my goal is to produce quality stories for y'all to read. I know the whole zombie AU is a little overdone, but I wanted to be able to produce chapters frequently for my first story. I have another story I'm developing, but I'm not sure if it's ready yet. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

"If we don't find food soon, you're going to have to worry about me eating your face off rather than the walkers."

Beca glanced to the girl on her right and sighed. That girl would be Stacie Conrad, basically who every other girl wanted to be, even Beca, but she would never admit that. Stacie is a very attractive brunette with legs that traveled longer than the road they were on, and had a figure even the Kardashians would be jealous of, if they were still alive, which Beca highly doubted. "I don't know what to tell you Legs. We haven't even seen a building of any kind in the past two days," Beca replied in a bored tone.

"I know, I know, but that also means we haven't eaten in nearly two days, and what did I say about calling me that?" Stacie huffed. She knows her complaining isn't helping their situation, but she's just been overly aggravated recently.

"Would you prefer Shitbird?" Beca questioned.

Stacie laughed and slapped Beca lightly on her arm. "I honestly would. It's way better than Legs."

Beca stole another glance at the brunette and smirked. "Shitbird it is."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while listening to the soothing hum of the road beneath the tires. They found this old sports car a while ago, and it was surprisingly still in good shape. It was orange with two thin, white stripes streaking down the middle of the car. This has been their home for the past couple months, stopping at abandoned towns and rest stops to siphon gas and gather the necessary materials to survive.

Beca's inner debate about how they were going to get food was interrupted when she saw a train car in the middle of the road. "Do you think this is a setup?" Stacie asked, grabbing her pistol just in case. She had never seen something like this before. Sure people would put up barriers using cars and trucks, but a train? Absolutely not.

"No, I don't think so. Let's check it out. We might be able to gather some supplies," Beca suggested. They were in a drastic need for something... anything. They were low on water and had recently consumed the last of their food.

Beca looked at Stacie. "Remember in and out."

Stacie returned her gaze and smirked. "I know how to have sex Beca," Stacie joked.

Beca parked the car and turned it off. The girls hopped out of the car, guns ready. They looked into the cab of the train car, but saw nothing useful. They walked around the large obstacle to be met with a beautiful sight. "Do you see what I see?" Stacie asked.

"Uh huh," Beca mindlessly replied as she stared at the small building. It seemed to be a rundown train station, and has obviously been abandoned for a while based off the amount of moss covering it. They headed toward the building to see yet another train car parallel to the building. The two brunettes nodded at each other and split up to search the premises for any walkers or people. Neither girls knew what was more dangerous these days. They rendezvoused at the entrance of the train station, after confirming that it was in fact abandoned. Stacie reached to turn the door handle, but the door didn't budge. Luckily for them, they had a crowbar stored in the trunk of their muscle car. Beca returned a minute later with said crowbar in hand. She easily broke open the door and instantly spotted two walkers.

"Wow... it's so sad, yet so romantic," Stacie said as she took in the scene in front of her. The two walkers were tied to separate chairs, their hands bound together, and a bottle of poison on the floor surrounding them. The walkers struggled to reach the intruders, not budging the rope tied around them, tightly connecting them to their respective chair.

As Stacie stared at the two agitated undead, Beca noticed a metal door leading to a backroom. "Hey, Stace. There's a room back here but I won't be able to pry this door." Beca turned around and saw the mischievous look in Stacie's eyes. "What?"

Stacie pointed to Beca's right and the girl followed her gaze, both now looking at the small window meant for ticket sales and mail transfer. The idea was instantly shut down however when Beca furiously nodded her head. "No way! I am _not_ crawling through that hole."

"Come on, you're small enough to fit," Stacie quipped.

"Well sorry I don't want to risk either getting stuck, or becoming walker beef jerky, or both." The short brunette deadpanned.

"Stop being so dramatic and look for a way inside," Stacie groaned. She and Beca further inspected the room until she spotted something. A key. A key that undoubtedly opened the entrance to the backroom. A key that was also attached to a necklace that one of the walkers was wearing. She made her way across the room to the walkers and saw a note lying at the feet of the monsters. She read it aloud, "Please leave us alone. This is what we wanted."

Beca looked over and saw the solution to their problem. "Well "they" aren't themselves anymore, so sucks to suck." She grabbed her combat knife from its sheath placed on her hip. She swiftly stuck the blade into the first walker's head and quickly repeated the action with the next one.

"And Beca Mitchell has literally killed romanticism ladies and gentlemen," Stacie voiced aloud, earning herself a glare from the aforementioned woman.

"It was either them or our hope in getting supplies," Beca claimed as she ripped the necklace of the walker and unlocked the metal door. It was a decent sized room filled with empty food cans, trash, and placed in the middle of the room was a queen sized mattress. They scavenged what they could find, which was a single can of baked beans and a few round of ammunition for Stacie's pistol.

Frustrated, Stacie sighed loudly and sat on the mattress. That's when they heard it. A loud creak. They both exchanged looks, puzzled at what made the sound. The two girls worked together to move the mattress, and revealed a trapdoor. "Bingo!" Stacie claimed excitedly. Before Beca could stop her, Stacie reached for the handle and pulled the door back, uncovering masses of jarred and canned food. Stacie squealed in joy, and Beca stepped closer to get a better look, but what she saw was unexpected.

"It's rigged!" Beca yelled as she saw the grenade roll into view, jumping at Stacie, pushing both of them clear of the blast. There was a ringing in Beca's ears as she stood and helped Stacie up. "You okay?" Beca asked. The other girl could only nod, for she was still in shock. "Okay good, we gotta move. The explosion is going to draw a whole hoard here." This thought was to be confirmed as Beca looked through the front window of the building. There was already dozens emerging from the forest. How they got there so fast, she would never know.

They burst through the door of the train station and sprinted toward their car. As Stacie only had enough bullets to fill half the magazine, both girls decided to utilize their knives at the encroaching walkers. There were only a few in their path, so it was easy to eliminate the threats and clear the path toward their target.

Beca jumped into the driver's seat as Stacie rounded the car to enter through the passenger door. The stress getting the best of her, Beca fumbled with the keys as the horde of walkers approached the car and desperately tried to reach the girls.

"Come on Beca! We need to go!" Stacie yelled, fear creeping it's way into her.

"I know! I'm tryi-"

Beca was interrupted as the window of the driver's side was shattered and a walker reached inside, attempting to grab Beca. Not having enough time to grab her knife, Beca stabbed the walker through the eye with the car keys, effectively making it stumble backwards, and in front of the car. Stacie, thinking fast, released the emergency brake causing the car to roll forward. The car continued until it crashed into a nearby tree, trapping the walker with the key sticking out of its eye between the car and tree.

"Stacie, put your long ass arms to use and grab the keys! I'll fend off the walkers somehow." Stacie nodded and kicked the front windshield of the car until it broke. She then reached forward, tugging the keys from the zombie's eye and putting them in the ignition. Just as the car started, a loud crash was heard as a walker broke through into the back seat. Stacie easily stabbed it in the top of the head as Beca began to rapidly reverse.

"Becs, just in case we don't make it through this, I-"

"We're making it out Stace."

"Just in case, I love you."

"I love you too."

The girls lurched forward as they crashed into a group of zombies behind them. Beca put the gear in drive and began to floor it when another walker reached inside the driver side window. Beca pushed against it's head as it tried its best to reach the small girl. Stacie immediately reached for her pistol, knowing Beca wouldn't be able to keep the walker at bay for much longer. Stacie aimed for the zombie's head ready to shoot, but the bumpy earth made it hard.

Stacie glanced out of the corner of her eye to see they were heading straight for a steep ditch. "Becs, watch out!" Stacie screamed, but it was too late. The car flew right into the ditch, colliding head on with a large boulder.

And then it was black.

Beca struggled to stay conscious. She knew if she passed out, she would most likely become a walker meal. As she looked around, she realized she was suspended upside down by her seat belt. She noticed something was missing, but that thought left her mind as she faded back into unconsciousness.

_Stacie_. Beca's eyes shot open and looked to her right, confirming that Stacie was the object missing. Beca hurriedly undid her seat belt, falling to the roof. Beca groaned as she felt pain shoot up the arm she landed on.

A low growl made itself present as a walker stood outside the passenger door, Beca's only form of escape seeing how there was a tree blocking the exit from her window. Beca backed toward her window with all her effort, scared for her life. Scared for Stacie's life.

Then there was a thud, and the walker hit the ground. She saw an arrow sticking from its head. She figured that's what killed it.

And then she saw her. An unconscious Stacie lying about twenty feet away. She must have crawled from the car and passed out. Beca used all her might to make her way to her best friend, but it wasn't enough.

The last thing Beca saw before she fell unconscious yet again was a person picking up Stacie and walking away.


	2. Welcome to Barden University

**A/N: I just wanted to thank y'all for reading my story. I honestly expected to get very little to no views, but I'm very happy with the amount I got. Sure it's not a lot for most people, but it is for me. Also, I was wondering if I should be answering reviews here, at the end of the chapter, or just PMing the person. For now I'm just going to answer them here.**

**Magic2488: Maybe I just think they're overdone because I've read almost all of them XD. Thank you so much for the compliments though, I really appreciate it. Also, I plan on updating the story, at the latest, weekly. I'll try to update every couple days if I can. PS: Thanks for being my first reviewer ever!**

O-o-O-o-O

_At first, Beca wasn't surprised that her front door randomly flew open. Stacie made it a habit to randomly show up at her house, especially after school. What made Beca look up though was the sound of crying. She cautiously watched as Stacie made her way into the living room straight for Beca, engulfing her in a massive bear hug. Beca quietly returned the hug, and sat there holding her tall best friend, waiting for her to calm down. After about thirty minutes, Stacie's sobs became low whimpers as she huddled further into Beca's embrace, both somehow fitting in the chair. _

_"You wanna talk about it my little sparrow?" Beca asked soothingly as she rubbed Stacie's back. Beca only used her nickname for the brunette in serious occasions. The shorter of the brunettes thought back to when she first came up with the nickname. Stacie had randomly walked up to her on the first day of kindergarten and told them they were friends which meant they need nicknames for each other. After hearing her new friend sing, Beca thought the songbird was a perfect nickname for her. _

_Stacie nodded against Beca's chest and begrudgingly removed herself from the small alt-girl and they moved over to the couch. It took a few moments for Stacie to get the words out, trying to think of a way to say it. _

_Stacie kept her eyes downcast, focusing on her hands in her lap. "I'm moving," She said barely above a whisper. _

_"What?" Beca couldn't believe what she had just heard. They had been inseparable since the day they meet nearly eleven years ago. "Where are you moving?" Beca added, hoping it wasn't far away._

_"California"_

_"What? Why? That's across the country!" Beca rushed. She didn't want to believe what Stacie was telling her. How would they have their late-night movie marathons that Beca secretly began to love? Who would she go to when she needed someone? Stacie was her rock. Her everything. _

_"I know Becs, but I can't do anything about it! Don't you think I've tried?" Stacie asked furiously. Of course she didn't want to leave Atlanta. Atlanta had Beca. "My mom got a job as a professor at UCLA. She starts for the fall term. We move in the middle of July," Stacie explained. _

_This couldn't be happening. They had to find some sort of solution. Beca needed her in her life. FaceTime wasn't enough, she needed her there physically._

_"Becs, just in case something happens and we lose contact-"_

_"We won't. I won't let that happen."_

_"I know you won't, but just in case. I want you to know that I love you," Stacie said, looking up for the first time. She saw tears mirrored in Beca's steel blue eyes._

_"I love you too," Beca gasped, trying her hardest not to breakdown. _

_They hugged each other, staying in each other's arms for the remainder of the night, neither wanting to break apart, as if once they did, the other wouldn't be there. _

O-o-O-o-O

Beca frantically awoke from her slumber to realize she was occupying the bottom of a bunk bed. She tried to get up, but saw her right hand was duct taped to the edge of the bed frame. _Really? Duct tape? Might as well have put a toddler proof fence around the bed_, Beca thought as she easily unwrapped the tape from her wrist. She took in her surroundings and it seemed she was being kept in a dorm room. There was another bunk bed across from the one she was in with a set of drawers in between them. A small desk was placed at the foot of the other bunk bed, a closet to the right of it. She looked toward the door and saw a shelf containing picture frames next to her own bunk and a coat hanger to the left of the doorway.

If Beca wasn't currently terrified of her current situation at the moment, she would have thought that the environment was quite peaceful.

As she made her way to the door, she stopped to look at one of the pictures. It contained three girls who all sported huge smiles, looking happy as can be. She wondered if the girls were still alive as she took in the details of them. The girl on the left was a vibrant looking redhead who had a distinct scar on her forehead. The middle one was a stunning blonde with the most beautiful emerald green eyes Beca has ever seen. The last of the girls had wavy, brown hair and was wearing a see through shirt. Beca thought that the girl should have worn a different outfit because her, for lack of better words, bologna nips, were on full display.

Beca then remembered her situation, and instantly brainstormed ways to find Stacie. She didn't know if the people who took them were dangerous or not, but nowadays you had to assume they were. She went to open the door, but found it was locked. _No surprise there_, Beca thought to herself.

She looked around trying to find something that could possibly jar the door open. She went to the closet, finding an art box on the top shelf. She jumped and attempted to grab the box but missed by a few inches. "Damn you mom for being so short."

She grabbed the chair at the desk and used it to gain elevation. Her plan worked as she grabbed the box and placed it on the desk. "This will work," She said as she found a palette knife. The adaptive alt-girl used the knife to pick the lock, gaining access to the hallway. She turned to her left and walked down the hallway stopping at the corner when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned and quietly made her way behind a pillar and watched as a shorter blonde girl walked up to the room that had contained Beca. A panicked look flashed across the girl's face as she saw the door ajar and pulled out a knife.

Beca crept behind the girl and swiftly disarmed her, putting her own knife up to the other girl's throat. "Tell me where my friend is," Beca growled.

"Drop the knife or you end up with an arrow in your head," said a British accent.

Beca looked to her right and saw a figure emerge from the shadows. He was a tall, fit blonde that could make any girl melt in his presence. He had a hunter's bow in his hands, arrow ready.

"Drop the knife. I'll take you to your friend," the British man offered.

Beca reluctantly dropped the knife causing it to clank on the floor. The girl Beca had captive quickly backed away toward the man.

"We're not going to hurt you," he said as he stepped forward. "Name's Luke. And this one is Jessica. She's been the one taking care of you," He said, patting Jessica on the shoulder.

Beca immediately was filled with guilt as she saw the girl was still scared. "I'm sorry. You can't be too careful these days," Beca tried to defend her actions.

The girl just looked up at Beca and looked back down at her feet. "She, uh, doesn't talk much," Luke told Beca, earning a nod of understanding in return.

"Beca," was the short response the brunette gave, not yet trusting these strangers.

"Sorry about locking the door and tying you to the bed and all. You were in pretty rough shape when we found you. We had to take precautions. You know, just in case."

"No need to explain," Beca curtly responded.

Luke tried to change the direction of the conversation, seeing he wasn't getting anywhere with the stubborn girl. "It must've been tough out there. For the both of you. Anyway, didn't mean to scare you. Just being cautious. Sorry if it came off the wrong way."

Beca could see he was being sincere. She wanted to trust them. She really did, but a reminder of the past quickly threw that train of thought away.

"Where's my friend?" Beca said bluntly. The tiny, dark-haired girl was becoming very impatient. The small talk was just wasting time she could be spending with Stacie. She had to make sure she was safe.

"I'll take you to see your girl. Come on." Luke smiled.

The three walked down the hallways of what seemed to be a rundown school. Beca glanced to her left and caught the other girl's eyes on her. Seemingly embarrassed, the blonde blushed and quickly averted her gaze to her feet as they continued walking.

Within minutes they were outside in the court yard, still on their journey to Stacie. At this point, Jessica veered off to talk to another girl. As they walked in silence, Beca took time to take in her surroundings. The school, which she found out was called Barden, was surrounded by walls towering at about ten feet Beca guessed. To her left was a big iron gate with a watch tower on the inside of the walls. In the middle of the courtyard was a flagpole without a flag. Spread out in various areas of the grass were picnic tables and furniture such as couches and chairs.

"We spend most of our time outside, so we decided to bring some of the furniture that was in the school out here." Luke had seen Beca looking around and decided to elaborate. He figured it was best to have the newcomers feel as comfortable as possible. Beca nodded in response, taking in the information.

"So you been surviving out there for a while, huh?" Luke asked. He wanted to get to know the alt-girl more, hoping they would become new additions to their family.

Going against her better judgement, Beca divulged her past to the man, "Yeah, we've been on the road a long time."

"Take it you know how to handle yourself? Don't usually see people our age alone out in the wild. I can't imagine what that's been like."

Beca looked at Luke, slightly offended. "You sound surprised. Like I can't handle myself. And I wasn't alone. I had Stacie."

"Not surprised at all. Sorry, I didn't mean it to come off that way. Honestly, I think it's pretty cool," Luke quickly added.

As they neared the main entrance to the school, Beca noticed the blonde girl from the picture she saw sitting on the wall. She abruptly stopped walking and looked at the girl. The green-eyed blonde looked up and caught Beca's gaze, and narrowed her eyes at the smaller girl.

Luke didn't notice Beca's actions and continued their conversation, "It wasn't easy getting you two out of that wreck, and walkers were on their way."

"The car... was it totaled?" Beca hoped that the car would be in good enough shape to run so they could leave as soon as possible, but highly doubted it was.

"Uh, yeah," Luke said while scratching the back of his neck.

"Fuck."

"Had to work fast. I don't know what would've happened if we hadn't seen the smoke..." Luke explained.

At that moment, a small Asian girl walked up to the duo and stopped next to them. Beca raised an eyebrow at her, but the girl just continued to stare. Thrown off by the interaction, Beca disregarded it and walked alongside Luke through the doors.

"You can probably tell it used to be a school. Now it's whatever we want it to be."

"Who's in charge?" Beca wondered, seeing how all these people looked as if they were in college.

"Well... I am. Our situation might seem a bit weird, but we do all right for ourselves." Luke answered. "We got good walls, good defenses. Good location, too. No one really comes out this way anymore. We've carved ourselves the perfect camp. We're safe here. We make sure of it."

Luke stopped and smiled at his new friend. "Let me make it formal. Welcome to Barden University. The best cheap choice you could make here in Georgia," Luke said while waving his arm out in front of him. Beca tried, but failed to contain her signature smirk. Luke saw this and considered it a win.

"Luke! We've got walkers on the fence!" the Asian girl from before barged in and yelled.

"Shit. I need to take care of this. Knowing Lilly, it's probably two grandma walkers and an angry squirrel. You got bigger fish," the British boy said. "Oh, right. Your girl is down the hall. She's with Jesse."

"Jesse?"

"Just listen for the music, you'll find him," Luke responded as he walked toward the door. "Get a move on Lilly! Where's your damn weapon?!"

O-o-O-o-O

Beca leaned against the doorway as she took in the scene in front of her. In the corner across from her was a piano, currently being played by a bulky brunette who she assumed was Jesse. Standing a few feet behind him was Stacie, watching as he played the melodic music. It was then Beca noticed a third body in the room. She was a heavy set blonde with wavy hair that hung just past her shoulders. They all sat in silence, reveling in the peaceful tune being played.

Stacie turned around and spotted Beca at the door. "Beca!" Stacie ran forward, and Beca braced herself knowing what was coming. With the force of a semi truck, or at least that's what Beca felt it was like, Stacie tackled the brunette into a hug, bringing both girls to the ground. "You're okay." Stacie was so worried for her tiny best friend, and didn't know if she was alive or not when she woke up here.

They stayed in each other's grasp for a while, just enjoying being with each other again.

"I was afraid you were..." Stacie couldn't continue as she choked on a sob, trying to hold back the fresh set of tears in her eyes.

"I'm okay. And you know what you are?" Stacie raised a brow, not knowing where this conversation was heading. "Trapped!" Beca yelled as she wrapped her legs around Stacie's lower half, successfully pinning the taller girl to her own body. Beca then continued to tickle Stacie at the other girl's displeasure.

"Becs! Stop!" Stacie began writhing and yelling. Being tickled was easily one of Stacie's biggest pet peeves.

Finally relenting, Beca let the girl go, and they both got off the floor. As if remembering there were other people in the room, Beca felt a wave of heat rush her face as she turned the color of a tomato. She was only ever like this when she was around Stacie, and after their traumatic experience, her feelings were intesified.

Deciding to break the silence, Jesse chimed, "You're not dead. That's good." He turned on the seat he was in that was placed in front of the piano and faced her.

"She didn't try to seduce you already did she?" Beca asked, knowing Stacie wouldn't be able to contain herself around all these built college guys.

"Wow Becs, don't think I can contain the hunter for two days?" Stacie said while slapping Beca's arm.

"Well I don't know, I guess I just bring something out of you," Beca smirked.

"You're right about that," Stacie responded while strutting toward the table occupied by the large blonde, putting an extra sway in her hips. Right before she sat down, she looked over her shoulder to see Beca still looking at her, and smacked her butt.

"To answer your question, no she hasn't," Jesse laughed lightly. He swiveled back toward the piano and started playing a new tune. Without looking back at her, Jesse said, "I'm Jesse."

"Beca."

"Hey short stack! Luke left your bag right here," the blonde spoke for the first time. She had an Australian accent which surprised Beca.

"It's Beca," she replied. "And your name would be...?"

"Fat Amy."

Beca looked at her skeptically, but decided not to question it. She walked over to the table and grabbed her bag, pulling out her knife to place in her sheath. Reaching further in the bag, she found her locket still in there. She's had this locket since she was ten years old. It was gold and in the shape of a heart. Inside contained two pictures. One being her and Stacie on the playground when they were in fourth grade. The other being a picture of the two at Stacie's eighteenth birthday party, Beca wearing a birthday hat, and Stacie wearing a tiara with the number "18" on it, both laughing. Her favorite part was the engraving on the back. It read "You're the star that lights up my world."

The locket was Beca's prized possession. She's kept it on her every day since she received it from Stacie on her tenth birthday.

Placing the locket back around her neck, Beca looked back in the backpack and took out Stacie's pistol, handing it to the girl.

Jesse saw this exchange and commented, "Can I trust her with that?"

Beca glared menacingly at him and curtly answered, "Guarantee she's a better shot than anyone here."

"I'll take your word," Jesse said.

Annoyed at the boy, she promptly asked, "You don't know any others?" referring to the song he was playing on the piano.

Answering her question, he started playing the music to "Romeo and Rebecca" by Blink-182.

Beca immediately recognized what song he was playing and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Don't you dare."

To Beca's pleasure, Luke ran through the door, interrupting Jesse's piano playing. "Have you seen Sheldon?" he asked Jesse?

"Nope."

"Shit. We've got a bit of a situation out there," Luke replied nervously. He then directed his attention to the two newcomers and said, "Um, I hate to ask, you just coming to and all, but we could really use a hand. You up for taking a few dead heads?"

Beca smirked, "Of course."


	3. Game Night

**A/N: Hi, y'all, hope you're enjoying the story so far! I just wanted to talk about any potential future fics I may write (if I continue). The next one that I have planned out is a Mitchsen college basketball AU because I love them. After that, I want to write a Steca fic because that's my favorite ship, and there's not enough out there. I was going to do Bechloe, but we need to fight for the Steca fics! **

**Rubiksmaniac: Yeah... kinda forgot to put in Beca's head injury, oops. At least it doesn't play a role in the future of the story. I probably should've included more detail about the car accident. Anyway, glad you're enjoying!**

**Anyway, sorry for my rambling. Enjoy!**

O-o-O-o-O

"Sheldon! Where the hell is he?" Luke questioned, looking around the courtyard.

Beca, Jesse, and Stacie made their way to the entrance of the school, and approached the tall British man.

"You give her her weapon back?" Luke asked Jesse. Beca pulled out her knife to answer him. "Good. We're gonna need you to put it to use. We've got a hunting party out there trying to get back inside. Need our help to clear the way. Seems to be a few more than usual these last couple days."

"It's almost like something drew their attention. Something like... I don't know... an explosion. Or a car crash," the blonde from the picture said. Although this was the first time Beca heard her voice, and the girl was blaming them for the current situation, she couldn't help but feel a pull to the green-eyed beauty.

"Bree..." Luke warned.

"What? Just saying."

"Are you insinuating something?" Beca quirked an eyebrow, challenging the girl. Beca wasn't one to take other people's shit, even if they were the most attractive person she's ever seen.

"You know, just speculating," the so-called 'Bree' responded, turning her back to the group.

"Hello Beca. I'm Aubrey. Nice to meet you," Jesse said mockingly. He understood the reasoning behind Aubrey's cold shoulder. She's been like this ever since it happened.

"What he said," Aubrey stated without turning around. Her gaze was fixed on the small gate door in front of them, looking out into the woods.

"All right boys and girl. They're starting to fill in!" Lilly yelled from hand-made watchtower by the gate.

"Come on." Aubrey opened the gate and led the group away from the school.

"Be careful out there," Luke said to Beca and Stacie before making his way to the front of the group alongside Aubrey.

"Don't mind Aubrey. She uh... grows on you. I promise," Jesse said, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh, Beca definitely wants her to 'grow' on her. And by that I mean she wants Aubrey on top of her... naked... in a steamy sex sesh." Stacie smirked at her short best friend.

"Shut up." Beca cringed and smacked Stacie on her arm, receiving a loud yelp from the girl. Luke and Aubrey looked back to see the source of the noise only to see Jesse and Stacie laughing at a red-faced Beca. As Beca met Aubrey's eyes, her blush grew even more.

Diverting the attention away from her, Beca looked questioningly at Jesse's weapon of choice. It looked to be the leg of a table with nails sticking out of it.

He saw this and replied, "Oh, this? It's a chair leg. I call it 'Chairles'." All he got in reply was Stacie's bellowing laugh.

"I'm sorry, but that's one of the corniest things I've ever heard," Stacie said while wiping tears from her eyes.

"I thought it was pretty cool," Jesse pouted.

As they neared the group of zombies, Beca saw orange rope tied around a number of trees. She studied the trees more and found that they were setups for traps. Giant boulders hung from about fifteen feet above the ground, suspended by an abundance of rope.

There were a few zombies hanging off to the sides, and Aubrey and Jesse quickly made work of them. Beca took note of Aubrey's technique. The blonde had used her butcher's knife to stab the walker in the head, and then used her foot to kick the walker away, effectively dislodging the knife. Luke then used his bow to kill a few more wandering corpses.

Beca decided she should get in the mix, so she approached a zombie, kicked it in the knee, bringing the walker down to her level, and stabbed it in the head with her combat knife. Stacie came in next to her to repeat Beca's actions on a walker that was walking toward them.

"Woah, your badass points are going up," Jesse shouted to the two girls. "Could use a little more finesse, though. Watch and learn." Jesse then turned and shouted at a walker, drawing its attention to him. As the walker got closer, Jesse cut the rope on one of the trees, leaving the boulder to fall and squish the zombie. "And _that's_ how you school a walker," Jesse winked at the girls. "There's a whole bunch of traps laying around this area for these asshats. They're all marked so keep a lookout."

Beca walked over to one of the traps to see a sharp, broken log hanging from the tree. When the time was right, she cut the rope and watched as the log swung and trapped the walker against another tree.

Within minutes, they had the group of about two dozen walkers cleared.

"Yo! Over here!" Luke yelled to the others. They crossed a small bridge and stood next to him. Three other people ran toward them, who Beca assumed was the hunting party. The one on the left was a lanky Indian boy who wore glasses, holding another bow under his arm. The girl in the middle had short, brown hair and carried a dead rabbit over her shoulder. The last of the three was a chubby guy with brown hair.

"Nice timing. More are going to be coming soon," Aubrey addressed the three.

"No kidding. Where'd all these walkers come from?" The new girl questioned.

"We can talk when we're back inside the gates. Keep an eye out for stragglers," Luke demanded.

With their new order, they all made their way back toward the school. Beca found herself walking next to Aubrey. The two quickly glanced at each other, but looked forward just as fast.

"You know, you aren't half bad. Considering the circumstances and all..." Aubrey said while keeping her eyes ahead of them.

"Thanks..." Beca couldn't tell if that was a compliment or not. To be fair, it was more friendly than the previous time they had talked.

Beca looked to her right and saw the Indian guy pulling out an arrow from a walker's head. What she didn't see was a second walker right behind him. The walker grabbed him and they both stumbled to the ground. Beca ran over, knife ready. She was there in a matter of seconds and dug her knife into the shoulder of the undead, causing the walker to switch its attention to her. As it turned around, the zombie swung its arm, knocking Beca a few feet away. The walker got up faster than expected and grabbed her before she could balance herself.

What few realize is that Beca Mitchell, yes, the tiny girl, is actually very strong. She was able to keep the walker at arms length, not letting it get close enough to her. The next thing she knew, something had barreled into the zombie, knocking it to the ground.

A massive, all black dog had jumped onto the walker. Without hesitation, the dog wrapped its teeth around the walker's head, squeezing until blood spurted out.

Beca stood there stunned, not really knowing what to do. She had a large fear of dogs due to her last encounter with one. She was in the woods by herself at the time, looking for firewood to bring back to her and Stacie's camp. She saw a wild dog near an abandoned camp and figured she could care for it. When she found a can of beans in an old, slashed tent, she decided to eat some, but when she went to give the dog a spoonful it took the whole can. Beca tried to retrieve the can, but the dog clenched its jaw down on her arm. She was able to take her knife out and stab the dog to make it let go, but she had to get it stitched up, and it left some pretty nasty scars.

The dog looked at her with a bloody face, and slowly inched toward her, growling.

"Good boy!" Luke came running up to the dog and kneeled to pet it. "Shh shh. Hey, hey, it's all right boy. It's all right." Luke stayed kneeling, but looked at Beca. "Hey, I see you and Sheldon are making friends."

"Had a bad experience with a dog once."

"Well, Sheldon here can help you get over it." Luke smiled. "He's as cuddly as they come. Except when he's mauling walkers, that is."

Beca didn't like the idea of being close to the massive animal. This was seriously one of the biggest dogs she had ever seen. And not big as in fluffy. This dog was pure muscle.

Luke returned to his leader role and directed the group: "All right, fun's over. Let's get inside. I'm fucking starving."

"You're not the only one," Beca mumbled under her breath.

"How'd it go out there?" Luke asked the boy Beca saved.

"How do you think it went?" He said, anger laced in his voice.

"Be nice, Donald," the girl from the hunting party demanded.

"The safe zone's nearly dry - I could barely find enough for tonight. We're going to have to scout out further if we want food for the winter." Donald commented.

"We'll talk about it later," Luke deadpanned. Beca assumed this had been a previous conversation based off of Luke's bored expression and tone.

Donald stepped in front of Luke, trying to get him to talk about the subject more. "Bullshit, we should talk about this right now-"

"I SAID LATER, DAMMIT!" Luke yelled while bumping into Donald forcefully as he walked by.

Beca looked on curiously, but her thoughts were redirected when Jesse walked up to her. _Why does this dude always have to be by me?_

"Still standing, I see." He then looked at Aubrey on his left. "I'd call that a B-plus performance there, Bree. You've done better."

"Fuck off," the blonde retorted and flipped him off.

"B-minus, then. Now Beca here? That was a solid A. A-plus even."

Beca didn't understand why this guy always had to be talking to her. She just wanted to revel in the peace of her surroundings while she could. She looked over at him, but her focus went to Aubrey. Even with the blood stains and the annoyed look on her face, Beca thought she was beautiful.

"Don't be jealous Bree," Jesse said while nudging the girl.

"Um, you kicked ass, Aubrey. A-plus." Beca said awkwardly. Comforting someone wasn't really Beca's forte, but she thought she should at least try. It seemed to have worked because she saw a hint of a smile creep on the taller girl's face.

"I know." Aubrey stated, smile still intact.

"You're both delusional." Jesse shook his head. With that last statement, they entered through the gates of Barden University.

O-o-O-o-O

Beca and Stacie were huddled close together on a bench in the courtyard, talking about their earlier expedition.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for saving my ass back there." Donald had walked up behind them and accidentally startled them.

"Yeah, no problem," Beca said.

Stacie noticed a large book tucked under his arm. "What's that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I think of it as a history book. I chronicle everything."

"Sounds kind of nerdy. Good thing nerds are cute." Stacie winked at him and watched as a blush began to form on his face.

Beca decided to stop Stacie's flirt fest before it began. "You seemed pretty mad at Luke earlier."

"He keeps pulling back the safe zone. We have fewer and fewer places to hunt. Which means we're going to have fewer and fewer things to eat," he explained angrily. "Anyway, thank you again, I'll see you guys at dinner." He walked toward a small student desk that sat near the main entrance of the building.

Stacie diverted her attention to Beca. "Becs let's get up. C'mon."

"Whyyyyy. I'm comfy. Your body is warm," Beca pouted.

"It's not like it's cold out here. We live in Georgia," Stacie responded while grabbing the shorter brunettes hand and dragging her off the bench. "Let's go talk to your new lady friend." She winked at Beca, receiving a warning glare.

They walked toward the side of the school and saw what looked to be graves. Aubrey and Jessica stood in front of two of the graves.

"Hey guys," Stacie said, breaking the silence. "You guys still do graveyards?" She was genuinely curious. She hadn't seen one since the beginning of the end.

Aubrey turned around to look at the two. "Kind of."

"So who's buried here?" Beca asked.

"Nobody, really. This is where we buried Jessica's sisters' belongings. Chloe and Barb. The three were all adopted by the same family at a young age. They were pretty much inseparable. We lost them both about a year ago," Aubrey clarified in a somber tone, a wave of sadness washing over her.

The three watched as Jessica laid flowers on one of the graves marked 'Barbara'.

"Hey, Beca! Stacie!" Jesse yelled across the courtyard. "Stew's done!"

The four girls walked together in silence and each grabbed a bowl of rabbit stew. Beca and Stacie walked over to the area with the picnic tables and sat with Luke, Jesse, and Amy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served." Jesse said.

"Thanks," Stacie said happily. Neither her or Beca had eaten a hot meal in the past couple months. Before the apocalypse, Stacie would have never touched this, but now it tasted like a slice of heaven. Before they knew it, both girls cleared their respective bowls.

Jesse saw the look of disappointment on the girls' faces as they looked at their empty bowls. He slid his bowl across the table to the two girls. "I'm full. You guys can have the rest."

"You sure?" Beca asked. She felt guilty taking his food. She and Stacie had been surprise guests, and eaten what little supply of food these people had left.

"You bet." He smiled at the girls and immediately knew he made the right choice when he saw the looks of pure joy on their faces.

After the girls finished what was left of their meal, Jesse whipped out a deck of playing cards. "Time for something... very important," Jesse stated and held up the deck of cards.

"Oh god, goodnight." the brunette girl from the hunting group had gotten up from her seat at a different table and began walking toward the dorms.

Seemingly ignoring the statement, Jesse continued speaking, "Aubrey, it's time!" Said girl stood from her seat and walked over to their table.

"What's the game tonight Jesse?" Luke inquired.

"War. The oldest game around. A game played by man and beast alike. The only game there is." Jesse revealed.

"Can we just get the game going?" Aubrey asked, annoyed by his need to tell a whole fairy tale.

"How do you play?" Beca asked.

The group looked at her incredulously. "How have you not played war?" Luke asked.

"Sorry I wasn't into boring shit when I was growing up," she replied.

"It's easy. Everyone gets a stack of cards, everyone flips one over. Highest card wins," Aubrey explained to Beca.

"And the winner gets to ask Beca a question," Jesse stated. Beca glared at him menacingly. "What? I want to get to know you. We all do." The others nodded in agreement.

"And what if I win?" Beca questioned.

"Then you get to ask us one. It's only fair," he answered.

"Well you guys have fun with your game. I'm going to hang out with Jessica," said Stacie as she stood from the table. Beca watched as she went over to the short blonde and sat across from her.

"Looks like she made a new friend." Luke smirked. "Jesse, if you would start us off."

They all flipped over their cards. Beca revealed a five of spades and looked around at the other cards, seeing that Aubrey had placed a king of hearts.

"Way to go me," the blonde said. "So about Stacie... you guys don't look like sisters. What's your guys' relationship?"

"We go way back. She's a sister to me. We've been best friends since kindergarten, and have always been by each other's side. We tried being more than friends in high school, but that didn't really work, so we just stuck with being friends." She thought she saw a look of relief take place on the girl's face, but that look disappeared quickly.

They flipped over their second card, and Beca proved to be the winner.

"Hey, I win."

"Hey you do. So what do you want to know?" Jesse asked.

Beca thought for a moment. "What's the grossest thing you've eaten?"

"I had to cook what was left of a ran over raccoon that was on the highway," Aubrey said, cringing at the memory.

"Once, before the outbreak, I ate dog food for a dare," Luke answered. Beca looked at him with a disgusting look before turning toward Jesse.

"Sushi."

"Really? All you're gonna say is sushi? And by the way, sushi is amazing," Beca responded. All he gave for a response was a shrug.

They continued their game with Jesse winning this time. He suddenly looked nervous as he looked down to his lap.

"Come on, spit it out," Aubrey urged.

"So, uh... ever, uh... ever have a boyfriend?" Jesse asked Beca.

"No, but I've dated my fair share of girls." Beca was confident in her sexuality, and whoever thought she was disgusting could fuck off. Nowadays though, homophobic bastards aren't really the problem.

Beginning the next round, Beca placed her card down, but was unhappy to see she lost yet again.

"Ha, I win," the British boy claimed. "So, Beca... you can't have been alone this entire time. Who used to take care of you?"

Beca instantly felt sadness cloud her. She hated talking about the past, but these people took them in and fed them when they didn't have to. She felt like she at least owed them this. "My parents and Stacie were the main ones. I had another friend that was with us. We called him Unicycle. But we lost him and my mother right when it happened. My father did a good job keeping me and Stacie alive after that, but like all things in this day and age, it didn't last." Beca hadn't looked up at anyone for the duration of her story. The tension in the air sat around them, nobody wanting to say anything.

Not being able to take it anymore, Beca placed her next card. Luke ended up victorious yet again.

"What's the most important thing your father taught you?" He didn't want to push the girl, but his curiosity was piqued.

"How to let go."

Luke immediately regretted asking his question as he watched Beca retreat further into herself.

They all flipped their cards again with Beca having the highest card.

"Worst injury witnessed?" the brunette girl inquired, happy to deflect the attention away from her.

"I saw a walker get hit in the head so hard, both his eyeballs flew out," Aubrey started.

"I saw someone have their intestines pulled all the way out. Like _all_ the way out. It goes on for a while. We got a lot of guts," Jesse voiced. Aubrey and Beca looked at him in disgust.

Luke didn't have anything to add, so Beca decided to tell her's, "I saw this guy get his face beaten in with a crowbar. Badly. There wasn't even any skin left."

"Ouch." Jesse cringed.

"Eh, he deserved it." Beca shrugged.

This round, Aubrey pulled the highest card. "Here's something I love to ask when I'm in groups. Out of the four of us, who do you think is going to die first?"

"Jesse," Beca blurted, not having to think twice about it.

"Hey!"

"I have to agree with her," Luke chimed.

Yet again, they all revealed their next card. Jesse won, for he pulled a Jack. "I am the greatest card player of all time."

"Just ask your damn question," Aubrey cut in.

"Ever... actually, never mind," Jesse began, but stopped.

"What? Ask it." Beca was growing impatient with this Jesse kid. She doesn't know why, but he just gets on her nerves a lot.

"It's not a fun question."

"Ask."

"Ever had to kill someone you loved?"

Beca went quiet for a few minutes. "My father. It was the same day we found out Stacie's parents were dead. We saw them wandering the streets as walkers."

"That... sounds like a rough day." Jesse couldn't fathom losing multiple people he was close with on the same day. Sure he had some friends that were lost in the beginning, but he couldn't imagine waking up, and the group he's grown to love be walkers.

"Yeah. Worst day of my life." Beca laughed bitterly. "I think I'm done playing for tonight," she said after a moment. The three watched as Beca walked over to Stacie, all of them feeling sympathy for the girl.

"Hey Stace, I'm going to head to bed."

Stacie looked at Beca and could tell she was upset. She wished goodnight to Jessica and walked with Beca to their room.

"You okay, Becs?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Stacie knew by now not to push her best friend because it would only make the situation worse. Beca would never shine light on the issue, and the talk would end with a fuming Beca storming away.

As they were getting ready for bed, a familiar blonde walked through the door. "Oh. Shit. I- I didn't know Luke set you up in this room." She smiled sheepishly at the girls, rubbing her arm. "I just wanted to grab something." The girls watched as she walked over to the picture frame Beca had seen earlier and grabbed it. She stood there for a moment, just looking at the picture.

Seeing an opportunity to get to know her better, Beca walked up to the girl. "Who are they?" Beca asked. She assumed they were dead due to their absence at the school.

"This one is Chloe," Aubrey said while pointing to the redhead on the left of the picture. "She was everyone's source of happiness, well, when Jesse wasn't making a fool of himself," she chuckled dishearteningly. "She was the closest I've ever been to someone." Beca could barely hear her quiet voice, but continued to listen intently.

"The other one is Barb," Aubrey clarified. "We were pretty close too, but our relationship was nothing like mine and Chloe's."

Beca looked at the blonde who was still staring at the photo. She could tell that Chloe meant the world to her, but couldn't help but think that there was more to their relationship than being friends.

"You guys look very happy," Beca said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah... we were." Aubrey smiled and looked at Beca. She took a second to take in Beca's features. She could appreciate an attractive woman, and Beca was just that.

Aubrey walked over and sat on Beca's bed, the brunette following, but choosing to stand at the foot of the bed. Stacie had been watching them closely from her side of the room. She could tell that Beca was attracted to the blonde, but didn't want to bring it up due to Beca's indirect personality.

Aubrey looked around the old room. "I always liked this room. Barb, had, like, paintings and shit on the walls. Lots of color. And Chloe... she was really musical. Not like Jesse though... she had actual talent." Beca snickered at her comment, but didn't want to interrupt her reminiscing. "She had an amazing voice. We were actually on an a capella team together. Luke always joked that he would scavenge a guitar and the two of them would tour the country."

The blonde seemingly came back to reality when she looked up at Beca. "That was a long time ago. After they... afterwards, Ashley, the girl from the hunting party, and Jess took down all the paintings. And that was the end of it. I don't know how Jessica could've had the heart to come in here because I sure as hell didn't. I shouldn't have even brought it up. It's not a good memory," Aubrey finished. She felt embarrassed for divulging so much information with someone she just met, but couldn't help but feel she could trust this girl.

"They sound like great friends," Beca said. She sat down next to Aubrey as a way to try and comfort her. "Do you mind us being here? In their room?" Beca was worried that Aubrey had been upset that they took over this space.

"No, it's... it's okay. Yeah. Yeah, I'm glad. I'm glad actually," Aubrey said unconvincingly. She smiled at the girl next to her to show that she didn't mind. Beca thought that she had the prettiest smile she had ever seen.

"I'm glad it's getting some use. Instead of just sitting around, picking up dust," Aubrey elaborated.

"What exactly happened to them? Barbara and Chloe?"

"They went scavenging with Luke and Ashley out past the safe zone. Didn't make it back. It happens. Honestly, I just miss having someone to talk to. I'm not exactly like... a people person. You know? I know I sometimes have a habit... have a habit of being a little bit too harsh."

"Yeah, me, too. First impressions aren't really my strong suit either." Aubrey found herself smiling again, grateful that Beca forgave her. She really enjoyed talking to the new girl.

"Are you guys going to kiss or what?" Stacie blurted from the other side of the room. Both girls blushed and looked away from each other.

"I think that's my queue to leave." Aubrey laughed and got off the bed. She made her way to the door, but turned before walking through the threshold. "See ya." With that she closed that door and left Beca and Stacie alone.

Beca redirected her attention from the door to Stacie. "Really? You just had to ruin the moment, didn't you?" She was highly irritated with Stacie's interruption. She enjoyed Aubrey's presence and was happy with the unexpected visit.

"I could've cut the sexual tension with my nails, Beca. C'mon, you're both obviously into each other," the leggy brunette retorted.

"Trust me, she doesn't look at me like that. She's probably just happy that she has someone new to talk to."

"Whatever. Goodnight Becs, love you."

"Love you, too," Beca mumbled. She couldn't stay mad at her friend. She found that out very early on in their friendship. Beca stumbled back over to her bed and got comfortable under the blanket.

"Becs?"

"Yeah, Stace?"

"This place is nice. I'm glad we found it."

"Me, too," Beca said closing her eyes. Before she succumbed to sleep, Beca's thoughts revolved around a green-eyed goddess named Aubrey.

O-o-O-o-O

**A/N: Kind of a longer chapter, but it was to mostly introduce new characters and develop relationships. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter out quicker. If you see this, I love you.**


	4. Girls' Bonding Time

_"Beca, please. Just consider it. For me."_

_"For the last time, no! Now drop it." Stacie had been trying to get Beca to apply to the University of Georgia for the past three weeks. To be completely honest, Beca was becoming extremely annoyed with her best friend recently due to this. She feared that the topic would come up every conversation they had. _

_Stacie slumped over the kitchen island and huffed. "Becs, this is your future we're talking about."_

_"Come on. Not you, too. I've already heard this from my parents a hundred times." Beca looked over at Stacie and saw the girl resting her head against the marble. She got up from her seat at the table and walked over to the girl. "What's this really about Sparrow?"_

_Stacie looked at the short, alt-girl next to her with tears in her eyes. "I don't want to lose you." Stacie said barely above a whisper. "I already came so close before."_

_Beca was surprised at the revelation. She hadn't considered the leggy brunette's feelings when they discussed college. She grabbed the tall brunette and engulfed her in a huge hug. "Hey, hey, hey. You aren't going to lose me. You never will. It's only an hour away. We can see each other every weekend."_

_"I can't risk it. I was lucky enough my parents agreed to let me live with you last year. I'm not going to put us through that situation again."_

_"Stacie, you're too busy thinking about my future. What about yours?"_

_"Is there really life without light?" Stacie questioned, touching the locket she gave Beca. _

_Beca looked down at the locket, catching sight of the engraving that read "You're the star that lights up my world"._

_"We'll figure something out Sparrow. I won't leave you." Beca assured._

_"I know you won't Becs. I love you."_

_"I love you, too, Legs. Now stop turning me into a sap." Beca chuckled and stepped away from Stacie's embrace._

_"Stop calling me that!" Stacie whined. _

_"I'm going to call you whatever you want since you're making me go to college." Beca smirked. Stacie stared at her with a confused look. Beca just sat there and waited for her best friend to catch on. You know, for as smart as Stacie is, she's really bad at picking up on the little things._

_Beca's smirk grew even more when Stacie's face went from confused, to surprised, to excited. _

_"Wait! You're going to apply!?" Stacie squealed, enveloping the brunette once again. She had only been this happy once before, and that was when her parents agreed to let her live with Beca, meaning she wouldn't have to move to California. _

_"I'd do anything for you, Stace. Even apply for college," Beca said, and tightened her hold on Stacie. She was being honest when she said she would do anything for the girl in her arms, especially if it meant she wouldn't lose her. _

O-o-O-o-O

"He's going to let us stay right?" Stacie asked nervously.

Beca and Stacie walked side by side toward the stairs of the main hall. They were headed to the principal's office where Luke had asked them to go for a meeting.

"I guess we're going to find out," Beca huffed as they climbed the stairs. Once they reached the landing, they stood in a hallway with two large doors directly in front of them. Stacie took the lead and pushed through one of the doors. Sat at the main desk in the room was Jessica. She looked to be drawing something which was a common occurrence.

"Hey, guys," Jessica greeted with a slight smile. Beca was a little surprised to hear the girl talk. This was the first time she had heard Jessica's voice since they arrived.

"Hi," Beca and Stacie said in unison. They walked over to the desk Jessica was occupying; Stacie sat on the desk and Beca chose to stand. Stacie intently watched the girl draw while Beca looked around the room, taking in the details. There was a dog kennel in the corner near the desk that had a blanket on top of it. In the corner opposite of the kennel was a mattress lying on the floor. Beca assumed this is where Luke slept. Next to the mattress was a small vintage couch that looked like it was older than the school. Across from the doors they entered were doors to a small balcony that looked out over the courtyard.

Without either girls noticing, Stacie had walked to a shelf near the entrance of the room and picked up a picture frame. She brought it over to Beca to show her. "It's Luke and Jesse. They're so small," she laughed and handed the photo over to her friend. The boys were wearing soccer jerseys and didn't look a day over nine years old. She observed the large shining smiles they both wore and couldn't help but notice that she hasn't seen them in person yet.

At that moment, the door budged open an inch. All three girls looked toward the door. The door, yet again, budged open another inch.

"Luke?" Beca questioned, hoping he would answer. She doesn't know why she's nervous, but this doesn't feel right.

The door flew open forcefully, and Sheldon slowly stalked forward growling. The girls didn't know what to do, for Jessica has never seen Sheldon act like this toward someone in their camp, and Beca and Stacie aren't very good with dogs. The two brunettes back away from the muscular dog, fear flashing in their eyes. "Stay back," Beca said, her voice wavering.

Luke walked in and saw the situation. He rushed in front of the girls and stood between them and the dog. "Hey, hey, it's okay boy. Shh." Sheldon instantly relaxed at the touch of his owner, becoming a completely different dog; Sheldon's face quickly formed into an imitation of a smile and his tongue flopped out wildly as he licked Luke.

"Sorry, about that. You said dogs bring back bad memories," Luke directed to Beca. He saw fear still present in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were so scared of him." Beca could tell he was being sincere based off his apologetic face and the concern written in his eyes.

"I swear, Sheldon is not as frightening as he seems," Luke tried to convince Beca. Stacie already composed herself and decided she couldn't wait any longer to pet the dog.

"Come on Becs, see? He's just a giant baby," Stacie gushed while squishing Sheldon's face. The dog happily licked her in return for the affection.

"A giant killer dog," Beca added as she remembered how easily the dog had crushed that walker's skull.

"He's harmless. He just needs to get to know you." Beca gave Luke an 'are you serious' look, and Luke just sighed. "Let me show you," He said as he offered Beca his hand. She looked at it not knowing what he was trying to do. "Do you trust me?" Luke asked. To be honest, Beca couldn't trust someone she just met, but she really wanted to be able to trust this group, so she gave him her hand.

He happily took her hand and guided it toward Sheldon, glad that she was willing to do this. "Get down on his level. Let him get your scent," Luke informed. Sheldon proceeded to sniff her hand, whining in return. "It's okay, he's not going to hurt you," the British man assured Beca, feeling the tremble in her hand.

Beca giggled as the big black dog licked her hand.

"Did _the_ Beca Mitchell just giggle?" Stacie asked with a smirk in place. It was a very rare occasion to hear her tiny friend make that noise.

"No. I don't giggle. You must've heard Jessica," Beca tried to blame the girl behind them.

"Nope. Not me," Jessica piped up, earning a glare from Beca and a laugh from both Stacie and Luke.

"Whatever," Beca crossed her arms and pouted.

"You did good. Now, whistle and tell her to lie down," Luke ordered.

Beca did just that, and to her astonishment, Sheldon walked over to the mattress in the corner and lied down, but not before circling the same spot multiple times.

"See? Not so hard."

"Yeah. That was... pretty cool," Beca said. She was feeling much more comfortable around the beast now that she was able to control it somewhat.

"Now, Sheldon will recognize you. He's really well-trained," Luke said while keeping his eyes on the dog. "He was the headmaster's dog, back when this place was still functional. But when the world went to shit, he bailed. Just like everyone else," he continued glumly. Beca only nodded in response. She understood what it felt like for people around you to leave without a second glance when danger came. "Now it's just us left. I'd like it if you and Stacie were a part of that," Luke said. Instantly, he was pulled into a hug by Stacie.

"Really?" she squealed, feeling the happiest she's been in a long time. They haven't had a home in ages, and this place was beginning to feel like one already. She just hoped that this group would finally be different than all the other ones.

"Of course. Both of you are plenty capable, and we need that." Luke walked over behind the desk, next to Jessica. He pulled out a hand-drawn map and laid it down on the desk. "Come here for a second." Both girls complied, walking closer to the desk. "This is the current state of our plan for gathering food. We are starting to run short. It's getting harder and harder to feed everyone in the school."

Beca looked more closely at the map and saw a greenhouse marked at the school. "You guys have a greenhouse?" Beca asked, genuinely curious.

"Um, not exactly. We used to maintain it real well. Had plenty of vegetables growing, but it became overgrown. Upkeep was impossible. Yeah, uh, we keep away from that now," Luke said.

"Do you think we'd be able to revive it?" Stacie asked. A greenhouse could do wonders for their large group if they got it working.

"No. Last time we were there... it got overrun by a horde. The school nurse was with us at the time, and she uh, she sacrificed herself in order for us to escape," Luke answered sadly.

Sensing he didn't want to talk about the subject more, Beca pointed to the area marked 'Traps'. "What's the trap area?"

"Hunting grounds, more or less. Jesse built some traps out there to catch game. He and Donald are set to go check them today." Beca was a bit surprised that Jesse was actually useful for something other than annoying her. She knew it was unfair how she acted toward him, but she couldn't help it. He just had such a punchable face.

"I didn't realize how much forest surrounds this place," Stacie adds, looking at all the green crayon.

"It's how we've kept ourselves from unwanted attention for so long. Well... for the most part anyway." Beca and Stacie looked at each other, both sharing a look that showed they were both curious about what he meant by that.

"What's the old shack?" Stacie asked, pointing toward the bottom right of the map.

"That's where we go fishing. That's our storage shack," he informed. "It's secure, mostly. Get the occasional walker or two that come by. Bree and Ashley should be heading out there in a bit." Stacie nudged Beca at the mention of Aubrey's name. Beca slapped the taller girl's arm and stared her down.

Looking back down at the map, Beca noticed the train station was marked on there. "That's the train station. There was a whole stash of food under the floorboards," Beca says, pointing to it on the map.

"Oh, where you crashed you car? Pretty sure that place is a lost cause. There was a hell of a lot of smoke coming from it when we found you two. Walkers flooded in there after all the noise you made." The girls looked at him sadly. They had found the jackpot just to get it taken away from them right under their noses.

"One more thing... see these red lines?" Luke asked, pointing to the red dashed lines on the map. He saw the girls nod and continued, "So everything inside is the safe zone. It's been getting smaller over the years, and food's become more scarce."

"So why not go outside of it?" Beca questioned. She thought the solution was pretty easy to figure out. _If there's no food on the inside, why not go outside of it?_

Luke shook his head. "We can't. Whenever someone goes outside the safe zone, bad shit happens. People die or disappear," Luke choked back a sob. Beca knew he was talking about Chloe and Barbara. "I just... I could really use the help, guys. Taking care of this group, it's not easy. I'm worried that if I don't figure something out, if... If I don't fix our food situation... I can't lose anyone else," Luke finished. Everyone could tell he was trying to hold back tears and saw them in his eyes, ready to break the surface. "We've already lost so much. Friends, siblings... I can't let anyone else die. It could break us."

"We won't let that happen," Beca said confidently.

"I know you won't." Luke smiled gratefully at the brunette. He walked over and hugged Beca and Stacie before returning to his previous position behind the desk.

"Everyone's counting on me to step up. Be the leader they need me to be. I really want to be that for them. You and Stacie are two more mouths to feed, but maybe you can help feed the rest."

"So what do you need from us?" Beca asked. She wanted to show her appreciation toward the group for taking them in.

Luke pointed toward the map, his finger landing on the hunting grounds. "Jesse and Donald are heading to the hunting grounds to look for rabbits. Well, Donald will, anyway. Jesse... I just hope he shows up, if I'm being honest." Moving his finger to the spot marked 'old shack', he continued, "Bree and Ashley are going up river to do some spear fishing. Hopefully, those two get along long enough to get some work done. Both teams could use some extra hands," Luke finished explaining.

Beca turned and smirked at Stacie. "We're going fishing." Stacie groaned in response. She has hated fishing ever since her father took her on a fishing trip when she was little. It was so _boring_.

"Take this. I don't want you getting lost," Luke spoke while handing Beca the map. "We're going to need all hands on deck if we're going to find any more food. Just remember to stay within the safe zone. We need you to come back home in one piece," he said while rounding the desk to stand in front of the two.

"So, I'm taking that as a 'we can stay'?" Stacie asked nervously. She had been worried sick since this morning, hoping they wouldn't be kicked out.

"Of course," he replied smiling. Stacie hugged him tightly before quietly thanking him. "As long as we got enough to eat, you're both welcome here."

"Thank you, Luke. You're a life saver... literally."

"You're welcome. Thanks for helping out yesterday. I'll see you guys for dinner," Luke said before walking out the door.

Beca could see the stress ooze out of Stacie's body. "See? Everything is going to be fine," Beca assured. The girls fell silent and realized there was still another person in the room. They both looked at Jessica who was still drawing. What they didn't notice the first time is that she was drawing an exact replica of the room. Every detail was perfectly inscribed on the piece of paper. "Wow, Jessica, that is amazing," Beca complimented the blonde.

Jessica looked up from her drawing and smiled at her. "Thank you. Drawing was something I was always good at. I actually came to Barden as an art major. After the world ended, I just had more time to perfect my skill."

"Perfect is an understatement," Stacie snorted. Jessica was truly talented. She was easily the best artist either Beca or Stacie had seen. Jessica shyly smiled at Stacie, not used to the appraisal.

"Look, we have to go, but we'll see you later?" Beca asked. She thought Jessica was a good person and wanted to get to know her better.

"You bet."

O-o-O-o-O

The woods were peaceful. For a second, Beca could imagine that the world was back to normal; she could imagine that everyone she loved was back. There was a slight breeze blowing through the trees, rustling the leaves. The river moved calmly as they walked alongside it.

"You know, I've been thinking... I wish we could all go on a road trip together," Ashley stated, breaking the silence of nature.

"Road trip? Why bother? It's not like there's anything worth seeing anymore," Aubrey questioned rudely.

"Aw, come on. I'm sure there's plenty of stuff to see. Maybe Beca could show us around," Ashley responded, unphased by Aubrey's tone. She directed her attention to Beca and commented, "You were able to get a car working and you know how to drive!"

"Barely," Aubrey muttered. Beca glared at the tall woman. _What's her problem? She was fine when we talked last night._

"Come on, Bree!" She looked apologetically at the two girls on her left. "I've never learned how to drive, but I'd love to learn."

"You sure you trust my driving?" Beca laughed, causing Ashley and Stacie to giggle. Beca smirked as she added, "I promise I don't usually crash."

"Oh, right. On second thought..." Ashley replied playfully.

Aubrey looked at the short brunette and smiled. "Yeah, I think Beca just totaled the last working car in the world."

The four girls fell into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the beauty around them. Beca kept stealing glances at Aubrey until she got caught. Beca looked away to hide her blush, but what she didn't see was Aubrey smirk at her. Within a couple minutes, they arrived at the hut.

Ashley walked over to a rusty, old truck and patted it. "I wish this old thing was working. We could just jump in and start driving," she said longingly. She had a distant look in her eyes as she imagined the trip they would go on. "We could take turns sitting in the back - it'd be like driving one of those cars with the top that goes down!"

Ashley's imaginary road trip was ruined by Aubrey's input: "We'd run out of gas eventually."

"But still. It's fun to imagine, isn't it?"

Aubrey just huffed and turned away, toward the river and walked away. Ashley watched her go with a sad look in her eyes. Shaking her head, Ashley switched her focus to the new girls. "Where would you guys go? If you could drive anywhere you wanted."

Stacie knew her answer immediately, "I'd drive down to the coastline. Park on the beach and go swimming."

"That'd be an absolute dream," Ashley agreed. "How about you, Beca?"

"I'd drive through the mountains. I've always found them to be very peaceful. The scenery, the environment, the lack of people."

"Well, I don't think you need to worry about that last one anymore," Ashley sighed. She was right. There were people far and few these days. Her and Stacie were just lucky they ran into a group of people who were good willed. "I've lived here my entire life. I'd say I know every inch of these woods. I'd kind of like to un-know it," Ashley continued in a somber tone.

"No use dreaming of what could be. We've got shit to do," Aubrey cut in. Beca didn't know what was going on between the two or why Aubrey was constantly rude toward Ashley, but she figured it wasn't her business.

"We got spears inside the shack. Come on," Ashley ushered, heading toward the small hut.

"You go ahead, I'll stay out here," Aubrey muttered.

"I'll keep you company," Stacie suggested as she walked over to the blonde.

As Beca and Ashley walked up the steps to the small building, Beca couldn't keep her eyes off of Aubrey. She was intrigued by the mysterious girl, and she wanted to unravel everything that Aubrey kept hidden. Due to the fact that she was distracted by Aubrey, Beca tripped on a step, falling forward onto Ashley. Luckily, Ashley was able to catch herself and hold Beca upright at the same time. The other girls looked over at them with a questioning look, but all they got in return was a flustered Beca dusting herself off.

Once Beca and Ashley made it inside and started looking for the spears, Ashley took advantage of the moment to have a one on one. "Hey... about Bree... I'm sorry she's being a little mean. It's my fault."

Beca looked at her in astonishment. "What do you mean? You're one of the nicest people here. How could someone possibly be mad at you?" Ashley had been nothing but nice to them ever since they got to Barden.

"I was there when those walkers killed Chloe and Barb. They were really close with Bree and... I think she blames me for what happened to them. I mean, how do even apologize for something that fucked up?" Ashley kept her eyes downcast. "I don't know. Maybe I deserve it," Ashley mumbled.

Beca felt bad for the girl. She doesn't know what happened, but she knows she shouldn't blame herself for another person's death. "You should talk to her about it. I'm sure she'll listen," Beca advised.

"Yeah, right," Ashley huffed. "I tried, I have. It just never seems like the right time." She went quiet for a few moments. Looking up, she spoke again, "We all used to be friends. Guess I just kinda miss that. But when you showed up... I don't know, I just haven't seen her warm up to someone in a long time." Beca was surprised at the revelation. Aubrey made Beca seem like more of a liability if anything. The only time she felt close to said girl was when they had their talk last night.

Ashley shook her head and turned around, finding the spears. Before she grabbed them, she paused and asked, "Do you... I mean, I'd hate to ask this of you. But do you think you could talk to her? See how she feels? About me? It's just been eating me up inside."

Beca felt the need to help Ashley. It was an unfortunate situation, and she would hate to be in a spot like that herself. "Sure thing, Ashley. I can talk to her."

Ashley's face radiated with happiness. "Really? That's great!" She gushed. "Thanks, Beca," Ashley said sincerely. Turning back around, she grabbed the spears. "I'm going to go check our fish traps downstream."

They were interrupted by Aubrey's annoyed yell, "Hey! What the hell is taking you two so long?"

"I'll take these to Aubrey, can you get the other two over there." Ashley pointed to the spears across the room before walking out of the shack. Beca walked over to the spears and reached down to grab them. When she stood up, something on the wall caught her eye. Etched into the wood wall was a heart with an arrow going through it surrounding the letters 'A+C'. She felt a weird sensation run through her that she has never felt before. Doing what she does best, Beca disregarded her feelings because confronting emotions just made life harder.

Beca slowly walked up to Aubrey who was currently trying to spear fish as they swam past. Stacie was about twenty feet away, and Ashley had gone to check the traps. "Can I join you?" Beca asked cautiously. She didn't know if she and the blonde were on good terms or not.

"Sure," she shrugged and returned to attempt to spear a fish. "Hey, check out these guys over here," she pointed out the fish.

"They're swimming against the current," Beca noticed.

Aubrey smiled. "Exactly. I guess they don't realize it makes them easier targets." She easily thrusted the tip of the spear through one of the fish, pulling it from the water and placing it in the bucket that resided at their feet. "Hey, sorry if I was weird last night... about the whole room thing," Aubrey apologized, breaking the silence between the two. "Seeing someone else in there... Uh, it was harder than I expected. You'd think I'd be less sentimental by now."

By now, Beca had put two and two together. Seeing the heart carved into the shack just confirmed it. Aubrey obviously had something with that Chloe girl.

"I'm sorry, we weren't trying to upset you," Beca said. She really didn't want to be on her bad side, especially if it meant earning the treatment that Ashley was receiving.

"No, no, it's okay," Aubrey rushed. "Seriously, it's kind of nice having someone in there again." Aubrey smiled at the shorter girl. Beca returned the smile and turned to continue fishing. Let's just say she wasn't the best at this, and had caught a total of zero fish so far.

After they caught a couple more fish, they heard a shout from downstream, "Heads up, guys, the haul's not looking too great!" Beca figured that Ashley had no luck with the traps.

"Uh, yeah, okay," Aubrey responded while shaking her head. "Sometimes she just gets on my last nerve, you know?"

"Yeah, I can tell."

"I mean, it's not like I hate her. I just... 'I wish we could all go on a road trip together,'" Aubrey mimicked.

"She definitely thinks you hate her."

Aubrey redirected the conversation, seeing that the fish were appearing less frequent, "Seems the fish wisened up. Maybe Ashley had better luck with the traps."

At that moment, Stacie walked over. "I only got one," she huffed. "I'm going to go check on Ashley," Stacie said, seeing that Beca and Aubrey had been in a conversation.

Aubrey watched her walk over to Ashley and revealed, "I don't know what the problem is between us. With Ashley... I don't know why it's like this. Why is it so weird? I can never relax around her.

"Maybe because she never said sorry," Beca claimed, seeing the look of shock appear on the other girl's face. "About the Chloe and Barbara and not being able to save them," Beca continued.

"She tell you that?" Aubrey asked quietly.

"More or less," Beca shrugged. "She wants to talk about it, you know."

"I just... I feel guilty about the whole thing."

"Why?" Beca looked at her, confused on why she would feel that.

"I was supposed to be out with the sisters that day. I wanted to work in the greenhouse, so I asked Ashley to cover for me, but then... I didn't even get to say goodbye," Aubrey revealed as tears appeared in her eyes. "I... I wanted to talk to Ashley, to tell her I didn't blame her for what happened, but every time I tried, I was reminded of who we lost. It was easier to just not talk about it," Aubrey finished.

Beca wanted to console her, but Ashley chose that moment to walk toward them. "We should get going," Aubrey voiced and turned around, walking in the direction of the school.

Beca grabbed the bucket of fish and saw Ashley catching up to them. "You find any fish?" Ashley asked Beca.

"We caught some, but not a lot."

"I didn't get anything. We should catch up with Jesse and Donald. See if they had better luck."

The three girls sped up in order to reach Aubrey. They all walked in silence until Aubrey spoke, "The Grand Canyon."

"What?" Ashley asked. Beca and Stacie were just as confused.

"That's where I'd go, if we took a road trip. Start driving until we hit the Grand Canyon," Aubrey explained.

"Yeah, that would be cool," Ashley smiled. Ashley trailed back, grabbing Beca's arm to slow her. "Thanks," Ashley muttered once they were out of ear shot of the two girls ahead of them. Beca just smiled in return.

Aubrey looked back, smiling. "Hey, you slowpokes coming?" She asked playfully.

"Yeah, we're right behind you," Ashley responded.

For once, everything seemed to be okay, and for the first time in a long time, Beca could see herself settling down. She could see a future that wasn't complete shit. She could look at the people who surrounded her, and she could see a family.


	5. Trouble in Paradise

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took a bit longer than the previous ones. I've been busy with preparing for graduation, doing stuff for college, sports, and work. Good news is, my last day of school was May 29th and I graduated on the 31st! I'll be able to get chapters out faster now, and I can start my second story sooner. Also, I created a twitter specifically for this account. I'll be posting updates and recommendations there. You can follow IDRKaNAME if you would like to! Another thing, I was in Arizona for a couple days, so that also delayed this chapter. Anyway, here's chapter five, hope you enjoy!**

O-o-O-o-O

Beca looked to her left and saw another trap for game tied to a tree, also not set off, just like all the other ones. She looked to the other girls in the group. "Where are those guys?" She asked. They had been walking for a good bit, and haven't even seen a walker.

Aubrey turned and looked at her. "Practicing making out with a toothless walker?" she chuckled.

"Gross," Ashley grimaced, crinkling her nose in disgust.

"I know. Poor walker," Aubrey replied. This received a laugh from the rest of the group. Beca would honestly feel sympathy for a walker who would have to kiss Jesse.

They walked a few more feet until Aubrey halted to a stop. "What the hell?" she said while staring at a thread of rope hanging from a tree.

"What? This isn't normal?" Beca was slightly confused. _Aren't the traps supposed to go off?_

Without turning around, Aubrey responded, "Someone sabotaged this. This isn't good." Beca could see the panic appear on Ashley's face. Someone was stealing game from them, and they could still be in the vicinity.

"Donald! Jesse!" Ashley yelled. They needed to find them as soon as possible.

"Spread out. See if we can find them," Aubrey suggested. Beca didn't like the idea of being separated from the group. It made them easier targets. Before she could provide her input, Aubrey and Ashley walked away, leaving Beca and Stacie standing there.

Beca looked at the rope that Aubrey noticed. It had been cut. She walked over to the tree next to it and saw that the trap had gone off, but was still empty. There was a pile of rocks next to the rope, but something else caught Beca's eye. She knelt down and picked up what looked to be a cigarette butt. She examined it closer, seeing that it was wrapped in paper. "Is this a bible page?"

Stacie knelt next to her and took it from Beca. "Sure looks like it, but I haven't seen a bible at the school."

"Yeah, me neither." Beca stood up and looked straight ahead of them. She saw a walker hung upside down from another tree that was a few yards away. The walker wasn't moving, and had a long, sharp stick going through its mouth and piercing out the back of its head. "Guys, over here," She called to Aubrey and Ashley as Stacie walked up next to her.

"Well, we didn't kill this one," Aubrey said as she approached them. "We wouldn't have left it hanging in our trap."

"What the hell?" Ashley gasped as she saw what they were talking about.

"Found this too," Stacie revealed, pulling out the cigarette butt. "Do any of the kids smoke?"

"Nope. Nothing to smoke," Aubrey answered. She furrowed her brow as she stared at the cigarette. She hasn't seen anyone smoke in years, so she knew it couldn't have been anyone back at the school.

"Who is this unlucky fella?"

They all turned around and saw Jesse and Donald approaching them. Donald was holding a rabbit, but Jesse stood empty-handed.

"Where have you been?" Beca questioned. _How had they not seen any of this? We've only been here for ten minutes, and they've been here for over an hour._

"Checking nearby traps. The ones that were sprung were all empty. All the rest are broken," Donald disclosed.

"Someone robbed us?" Ashley gasped. The group looked at her as she began to panic.

"Oh, great. And now we're gonna starve," Jesse added. Aubrey glared at him. Now wasn't the time to be negative. They needed to find out how to get food, not panic.

"Fuck, that's... fuck... fuck! It's just... fuck... it's okay, it's... breathe, Ashley, c'mon... c'mon c'mon c'mon..." Ashley rambled quickly. It was clear she was starting to have a panic attack.

"You're going to be fine," Aubrey said slowly. "It's just a panic attack."

Beca decided she should try and help comfort Ashley. "Hey, easy. We'll still get us enough food to get us through the-"

"That's not what I'm worried about!" Ashley snapped as she turned toward Beca. Beca was shocked to say the least. She had never heard Ashley raise her voice before this, and definitely didn't know what to do about it.

"Ashley, just chill," Aubrey said, trying to control the situation.

"I have to tell Luke about this."

"Um, we still need food. You know, to live? We definitely don't have enough here," Jesse pointed out.

"You guys figure it out," Ashley curtly responded. The group watched as she walked away from them, toward the school.

"I'll take this haul back to the school. Maybe we can ration out something," Donald mumbled before turning and starting in the same direction that Ashley took off in. This left Beca, Stacie, Aubrey, and Jesse standing in the woods with no food.

"So what do we do? Eat rocks?" Jesse questioned the rest of the group.

"You can't eat rocks," Stacie replied matter-of-factly. Beca just shook her head at her friend's inability to detect sarcasm.

"I'm aware," Jesse disclosed.

"Will Luke kick us out if we don't find food?" Stacie asked worriedly.

"Well, let's not find out," Beca voiced.

"Where else could we look?" Jesse asked the group. All four of them went quiet, trying to think of something.

Beca pulled out the map from her pocket and unfolded it. She looked at the map and thought of an idea. It was a longshot, but they were desperate. "The train station. It's not too far from here."

"Maybe, but it's outside of the safe zone," Aubrey mentioned.

"There was food there when Stacie and I passed through. It's worth a look."

"You sure there was food?" Aubrey was skeptical that there would be enough food for everyone in a small train station, especially after she saw smoke coming from it.

"Positive. Yeah, some of it was destroyed in the explosion, but there has to be something left. There was so much there." Beca saw the unconvincing look on Aubrey's face and continued, "Or we could starve." Aubrey looked to Jesse and got a shrug in return.

"Fine. Let's go."

O-o-O-o-O

By the time they reached the train station, night had approached and there was no sun to provide light. The four took cover behind a train car and assessed the situation. There were about two dozen walkers outside the building, roaming amongst each other.

"There. That's where the food is. Lot more walkers than last time, though," Beca informed. She didn't expect there to be as many zombies as there were now. She figured they would have dispersed from the area, seeing how it's been two days.

"We're going to die," Jesse claimed. Everyone looked to him and gave him a stern glare. "Okay, sorry for being realistic," He mumbled while putting his hands up in surrender.

"It's either die here, or die from hunger. Take your pick," Aubrey responded. She was annoyed with Jesse's constant pessimistic comments. She looked toward Beca and Stacie. "Maybe you guys should scope things out. You know the place better."

"Let me get a closer look. Can't be too careful," Stacie said. Aubrey nodded in return and crept to the side of the train car. "We need to get in the building somehow. Maybe there's another way in..." Stacie trailed off as she continued to look around, her eyes landing on a bell next to them. "That bell... it might be able to get the walkers' attention."

"They do like to follow sound," Aubrey added.

Stacie made her way back to the group, a look of determination in her eyes. "You look like you've got an idea," Jesse stated.

"The noise from that bell could draw a lot of walkers. If one of us climbs up there..." She said while pointing to another train car off to the side. "...and starts ringing it-"

"Jesse. I vote Jesse," Aubrey interrupted abruptly.

"Uh, hold on. I'd like to make an alternate suggestion," Jesse voiced.

"Come on, Jesse. You're loud, dramatic, a little annoying..." Aubrey listed, trying to convince him.

"I think she pretty much summed it up," Beca agreed.

"Ouch. All right. I see how it is."

Aubrey took out her cleaver and looked at Beca and Stacie. "I'll go with you. Give you some cover."

"Fine, I'll do it. But if I die, I'm making sure walker Jesse eats you three first." Jesse huffed. "I'll distract them until I see you guys reach safe cover. Then I'll try to redirect the smelly patrol to give you guys a chance to spring inside the building," He informed the girls. They all nodded in return, getting ready to launch into action.

"When we get into position, I'll signal you. Then you can do your thing," Beca told Jesse.

Jesse silently took the bell from the holder it was placed on, and started to creep toward the train car. "Good luck," he whispered back. Beca and Stacie took out their knives as they watched Jesse climb the big hunk of metal. He started banging on the train car and shouting. "Hey, ugly! No, not you. Not you, either. Him! Fine. Make this confusing, why don't you?"

The horde of walkers stumbled toward the source of the sound, creating a path the girls could follow. One zombie heard the girls making their way over, and looked in their direction. Beca made easy work with the walking corpse, and the three ducked behind a set of barrels.

Jesse saw they made it to cover and continued yelling. "Hey, look! Got your nose! I'm just fucking with you, you have no nose. Just a rotten hole in your face."

"So far not dead," Aubrey whispered.

"So far," Beca agreed. "I'll let Jesse know we're ready." She peered above the barrels and waved to Jesse. He waved in return and walked out of view. Beca had no idea what his plan was, but all she knew was that the sound stopped, and the walkers were growing louder.

"What is he waiting for?," Aubrey whispered angrily. She was not going to die because of Jesse. "C'mon, c'mon... fucking Jesse."

"Just... give him a second," Stacie responded. "And maybe keep it down a bit," She warned. The walkers sounded like they were getting closer, and if they kept making noise, it wouldn't end well.

"We may not have a second," Aubrey said. They fell silent for the next couple seconds as the surrounding walkers were coming closer and closer. Then they heard it. Jesse was ringing the bell from the opposite side of the train station, atop another train car. The three girls peeked over the barrels and saw the walkers were indeed distracted.

"I'll watch the door for walkers," Aubrey suggested.

"Okay, Stacie and I will sneak in, grab the food, and get out," Beca informed the blonde.

"Sounds good. Let's make it quick."

Beca and Stacie left their cover and slowly made their way to the porch of the train station, the horde of walkers too distracted by the ringing of the bell to notice the girls behind them. The two took their time walking across the porch, afraid that the old wood would creak and alert the undead. Reaching the door, Beca opened the entrance to the building and walked in. As they continued to the back, Stacie stopped and stared at the walker couple they had killed when they first arrived.

"Stace, c'mon. We don't have time to waste," Beca whispered before disappearing into the ticket room. Beca looked around and saw three faded duffel bags lying under a metal rack. "These will be perfect."

"Becs, look," Stacie said while looking toward the lantern in her hand.

"Try it out. See if it works." Stacie turned the knob and a flame ignited within the glass. They both smiled at each other, happy that they had light to help them. "You still got your gun?"

Stacie pulled it out from her belt and spun the chamber in response. "Just in case."

Beca grabbed the lantern and leapt down into the bunker area that the food had previously occupied before the explosion. "Well here goes nothing." Stacie sat there until Beca emerged into view a few moments later holding a jar of rice.

"Nice! Is there any more?"

"Tons."

"Well, keep it coming babe," Stacie winked at Beca causing the shorter girl to shake her head and sigh. Beca repeated her voyage for food until they had filled two of the duffle bags with jars.

Stacie was zipping the second bag closed while Beca disappeared yet again.

"Stand. Slowly."

Stacie quickly turned toward the voice and saw a tall, middle-aged man standing in the doorway, a pistol pointed at her. He was balding, and had a shaggy beard with long sideburns. He wore old boots that were falling apart and jeans with holes around his knees along with a baggy sweatshirt. Stacie quickly did as she was told, fear coursing through her veins.

"Don't yell. Don't try anything. I won't hurt you," He said slowly, his voice ragged. He then raised a cigarette to his mouth, inhaling the smoke and blowing it out. "If I don't have to," he added.

"Do not fuck with me," Stacie asserted confidently.

"I'm not here to fuck with you. I'm here to get some food. Same as you," he claimed, unphased by the brunette's attempt to maintain dominance. He brought the lit cigarette to his mouth and took a long drag, his piercing stare still pointed at the leggy brunette in front of him. He lowered the butt and continued while walking toward her, "You and your friends made a lot of noise out there. Wasn't hard to follow." Stacie glanced at the bunker at her feet, hoping Beca would appear soon. "You live close by? You knew about this place already... and organized some effort to get inside," he said knowingly.

"I've seen those cigarettes before. You messed up our traps, didn't you?" She inquired, hoping to avoid answering his question and giving away too much information.

"Guilty as charged. But it was an honest mistake. I can be a real butterfingers sometimes." The man kept his gun raised as he sauntered past Stacie. As he reached the corner of the room, he kept his gaze fixed on the tall girl, and grabbed one of the duffle bags filled with food. Maintaining his slow pace, the shaggy man made his way to the center of the room, stopping next to Stacie, his gun nudging her elbow. "You look a little young to be out on your own," he commented. "You got a group? I count you, plus the two outside. I'm thinking, maybe more?"

"Tell me about your group first." Stacie was only trying to buy more time in order to come up with an idea.

The man chuckled in response, glancing at the floor. "I miss the days when we weren't all so goddamn cagey." Something caught Stacie's eyes over the man's shoulder. There was an open window that led outside where multiple walkers were wandering. She quickly averted her gaze as he lifted his head. "It's just me and my ugly face out here," he answered as he took a few steps backwards. "Lonely, ugly, and hungry." He knelt down on one knee and unzipped the bag. "Now... I'm going to fill the pack real slow."

"We worked hard to get this stuff!" Stacie cried in outrage.

The man reached to grab a lone jar that sat next to the bunker, but quickly retracted his arm when a flash of brunette hair and blood flew into vision. Stacie quickly drew her gun and aimed it at the smoker as Beca appeared from the hole, a knife in hand. There was a streak of blood coming from his hand from where Beca had sliced him. He looked up to where Beca was now standing. "Well, hey there, squirt. Playing hide and seek, are we?" He laughed lightly as Beca pointed her dagger at his face, "Now that's impolite."

"You're not stealing from us again," she declared, her confident demeanor unfaltering.

"I'm not stealing. This isn't yours." Stacie looked back over to the window, that was now directly behind the armed man. She counted three walkers in view that were roaming outside. Her mind played a multitude of scenarios over and over again. She knew she couldn't just shoot him because it would draw the walkers' attention, but she would shoot if it came to it. "Come on, kid. I'm faster than you." He slowly rose to both feet as he continued, "Listen up, squirt, you're going to quit pointing that knife at me, and let me go my merry, you understand? I'm just going to take a little bit, and then I'm leaving. Like it never happened."

This was her chance. Her chance at protecting them while also saving their abundance of food. "Beca, get down!" Stacie yelled as she charged toward their robber. She collided with him, effectively making him fall backward toward the window. He caught himself on the window sill and aimed his gun at her. "You fucked up, Missy." However, before he could pull the trigger, a walker reached through the open window and pulled back his right arm, distracting him from the girls. Another walker grabbed his other arm, tugging him back. "FUCK! FUCK!" he screamed as the two undead tore his body from the building, and pulled him out of sight. The only thing remaining of him was his screams, "No! Dammit!"

At this moment, Aubrey burst into the building and halted in the doorway. "What the fuck?" Panic was written in her features and she stood there, not knowing what to do. "Just take a bag and fill it up," Beca commanded, and the three started filling the last of the three bags to the brim. Once all the bags were full, each girl grabbed a bag and ran toward the entrance of the train station. Beca swiftly kicked the door open, breaking the hinges.

They started running back from where they came from until Jesse caught Beca's eyes. He remained perched atop one of the train cars and shrugged, confused with their actions. "Run! Now!" Beca yelled as they continued down the path, until she came to an abrupt halt. There were dozens of walkers approaching the station from where they entered, pushing down the fences as they attempted to grab them. Beca quickly looked around, looking for a solution, until she saw a gap to her left, and ran toward it. Hearing a walker close by, Aubrey turned around and stuck her cleaver in its head, the body falling in a large lump on the ground. Running through the gap, Jesse made his appearance, and the four rushed back in the direction of the school.

"What happened in there?" Jesse questioned while running with Chairles in hand.

"Just move!" Aubrey demanded as she took the lead.

O-o-O-o-O

"You are not listening to me. Luke, listen to me - I'm telling you, the place was ransacked!"

"It's fine. We'll deal with it." Luke's attention was drawn away from Ashley as the front gate opened, revealing four bodies.

Amy walked over to the group, wondering where they had been, "Took y'all a while."

"How poor are they that have not patience!" Jesse quoted as Aubrey, Beca, and Stacie placed the duffel bags onto one of the picnic tables. The rest of the group walked over to see what the bags contained. Gasps of shock and awe were heard throughout the group.

Bumper took place beside Beca and observed the copious amounts of jarred food. "That's, like, a lot of food."

"Observant as ever, Bumper," Jesse snickered while shaking his head.

"I can't believe this. Look at it," Donald chimed in. The look of astonishment held on everyone's face was amusing to Beca. Being able to summon these looks of happiness and bewilderment caused a swell of pride inside of her. She was over joyous that she could repay them for letting her and Stacie stay.

Beca looked to her right when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "You're our savior, Beca," Lilly said quietly, a grin residing on her face. Beca could only smile in return, for she truly didn't know how to respond to such an honorable claim.

"Aubrey and Jesse helped, too," Beca informed. The two definitely deserved recognition for their part in the supply run. Without them, they wouldn't have been able to siege the old train station and gather any of the food they had currently.

"Neither of them ever brought back this much before," Donald stated.

"Neither have you," Jesse added with a look of anger.

"Where did you find all this?" Ashley asked.

"The old train station. Beca knew where it was," Jesse answered.

"Train station... that's outside the safe zone."

"We'd have even more, but we ran into the creep that fucked up our rabbit traps," Aubrey voiced.

Ashley stood quietly for a moment trying to think of who the stranger could be. "Creep? What creep?"

"Becaw saw him smoking those nasty ass bible cigarettes," Jesse replied.

"Becaw? Where the fuck did Becaw come from?" Beca asked the boy. She hated nicknames. The only person that was allowed to give her a nickname was Stacie.

"You know? Like the sound a bird makes?"

"So, what? I'm like... a bird now? You couldn't have come up with something better than that?"

"Guys, can we get back on topic?" Ashley interrupted their tangent. She received two nods in return, signaling they wouldn't get distracted again.

"He had weird, different-colored eyes," Beca said. She watched as a look of recognition flashed across Ashley's eyes. Panic was visible on Ashley's face as she looked toward the gate.

"Did he follow you?" She rushed.

"Nope, I shoved him into a pack of walkers. They took a chunk out of him," Stacie answered. Ashley didn't seem to be convinced, so she continued, "Look, I don't know if he got out of there, but if he did, he won't make it for long."

"You _attacked _him? What the fuck!" Ashley screamed at the taller brunette. Stacie's shock was evident, but Ashley kept yelling, "If he survived, you know he's coming back for revenge. What the hell were you thinking? This is fucked. How could you be so stupid?"

Beca couldn't stand this crude verbal attack, so decided to step up and take initiative, "Wanna try stepping back, Ashley? I'd recommend it."

"I _recommend_ getting your head out of your ass before we're all dead!" Ashley pushed past Beca, but was still mumbling, "I just can't... I won't... just, not again... fuck!"

Hearing the loud fighting, Luke stepped over. "What the hell is going on here?" he questioned what was left of the group.

Ashley turned around to face them and walked until she stood directly in front of Luke. "She took them outside the safe zone... they _saw_ someone! You know what that means!"

"_Enough_!" Luke yelled, silencing the girl in front of him. "It just means there's a hungry guy out there looking for food. It's happened before. You are overreacting," he said in a much quieter voice.

Ashley took a few steps away from him, panic still set on her features. "You can't be serious!"

Luke grabbed Ashley's arm, trying to calm the situation, "Come on, let's go somewhere and talk about this." Luke turned back to Beca, Stacie, Aubrey, and Jesse and gave them an apologetic look. Ashley took advantage of his lapse of focus and pushed as hard as she could against his chest, causing him to fall to the ground, almost hitting his head on a table.

"If _anything_ happens... I'm holding _you_ responsible!" Ashley approached Beca and growled while poking her finger at Beca's chest. The group watched as Ashley stormed off across the courtyard in a rage.

Luke stood and looked down onto Beca and said, "Beca, I know I asked you for help..." Luke pinched his brow and sighed, "...and you did. You did, but... shit. God. Nothing's easy."

"It was risky, but it was worth it," The steely-eyed brunette defended. "Like you said... we can't lose another kid."

"Yeah. Yeah, I did say that," he admitted in defeat. His face formed into a grin as he crossed his arms and peered over to the bags of food. "Well... at least we're eating tonight. And for the next few, I'd wager. I'll go talk to Ashley. Thanks for the haul, guys. You guys should go enjoy it. You've earned it," the blonde British man said before walking away, leaving Beca and Stacie alone.

They looked to the picnic tables and saw that dinner was already cooked and everybody else was eating except for Ashley and Luke. They grabbed a bowl of stew and took their seats at a table, Beca sitting in between Aubrey and Stacie, with Jesse and Jessica taking the spots across from them.

"Don't sweat it, Becaw," Jesse commented, seeing the glum look on her face. Beca didn't respond, instead opting to begin eating her food.

"Ever since we lost Chloe and Barb, Ashley's been freaked out by anything that happens beyond the safe zone. She'll be all right, eventually," Aubrey mentioned. A wave of calmness washed over her at the blonde's words. Aubrey had the ability to do that without meaning to try.

Donald walked behind them, overhearing their conversation. "Still, we should make sure this is a one time thing. We can take Rosie out in the morning, see if she catches a scent. You know, just in case," he suggested. Beca thought that it was a good idea, but knew that the man they had ran into was dead. She had seen him get dragged into the horde herself.

"I'm going to go clean up," Aubrey announced as she stood from her seat and grabbed her bowl.

"I think I'll go, too. See ya later," Jesse stated, repeating Aubrey's actions.

The remaining three girls sat in silence for a while until Jessica spoke, "Don't worry about them. They're just sad."

"Sad? Why?" Stacie wondered. Yes, the world was falling apart, and yes, most of the human population was dead, but she didn't know the cause of their sudden somber mood.

"My sisters died around this time last year. I think it's starting to get to people," she revealed in a calm tone.

"Doesn't it get to you?" Stacie questioned back.

"Not really. Dying isn't scary. I mean, it's sad, but... not scary."

"Becoming a walker is a lot worse than being dead," Beca voiced. She has seen too many people she loved be turned into walkers. Some have even tried to kill her. Some she has had to kill herself.

"How do you know? Maybe being a walker is really nice," Jessica reasoned.

"I doubt it."

Jessica giggled, but still responded, "Me, too, but it's not like you can go ask one." There was a moment of silence as Beca and Stacie thought about what was just discussed. "I try not to focus on them being gone. I like picturing where they'd be now, instead. Barbara was awesome at making stuff. She'd build a place big enough for all of us to live, and paint it, too, and Chloe'd be playing whatever new song she wrote. I guess death doesn't scare me because I know I have something waiting on the other side."

O-o-O-o-O

The room was dark beside the small light coming from the candle that was placed on the dresser between the bunk beds and the moonlight cascading through the gaps in the wood planks that were nailed to the window. The woods beyond the window were quiet, excluding a few crickets that would produce noise every so often. Beca and Stacie lie on their respective beds, staring at nothing, yet thinking about everything.

Stacie was the first to break the silence that engulfed the room, "I like it here. I got to kill fish!" she exclaimed excitedly, turning to look at Beca, only to see the small woman roll her eyes. "Aubrey looked like she was having a good time," Stacie said, a mischievous look in her eyes. "I bet you want to show her a good time," she winked at Beca, causing the shorter girl's cheeks to flush red. The girls fell back into silence, fatigue taking over. "It's nice. Not driving everywhere, or running away."

"I really like this place, too, but I don't like that I like it."

Stacie was puzzled, she didn't understand what Beca meant by her comment. "What do you mean?"

"Whenever I begin to enjoy life in this day and age, something always happens, and completely makes me regret becoming comfortable," Beca confided. She wasn't the type of person to express her emotions, but she figured now was an appropriate time.

"Well... I feel like this time is going to be different," Stacie conveyed. She wasn't used to this side of Beca: it was very rare that Beca showed this side of her, but she knew it was her job to attempt to comfort her best friend.

"We can only hope."

After a bit of time passed, a loud yawn was audible from Stacie's bunk, "Goodnight, Becs."

"Night, Sparrow." Beca's remark caused Stacie to smile. She secretly loved when Beca called her that. It was a rare occasion, but definitely cherished. Stacie could only think about how she's heard it more often since the beginning of the apocalypse.

"Love you, Becs."

"Love you, too, Stacie."

O-o-O-o-O

Beca awoke from her slumber, and considering the darkness of the room, she assumed it was still night time. She sat up on her elbows as she tried to shake the sleepy daze she was brought out of. After a couple of seconds, Beca finally noticed what woke her. There were loud, muffled voices coming from the pipes that were exposed by the rotting ceiling. She heard a low grumble from across the room and saw Stacie sitting up as well.

"What's that?" Stacie asked Beca.

"Shhh," Beca hushed as she stood from her mattress. She grabbed the candle from the dresser and relit the flame, spawning a light that brushed across the small dorm room, painting the shadows with color. The small alt-girl reluctantly approached the door when she heard the voices become louder.

"There's voices in the pipes," Stacie interjected. The voices were too suppressed by the pipes to be able to determine who the voices belonged to, leaving any possibility open.

"I think someone's in trouble," Beca turned and responded to Stacie. "You got your gun?"

"Uh huh."

"I'll be right back," the shorter woman started making her way to the door, but was interrupted.

"I want to go with you."

"I'm not letting that happen. We don't know what's out there, and I'm not letting you get hurt because I couldn't protect you." Stacie sat, staring at her friend, knowing that whatever method she tried, Beca wouldn't budge. She was a very headstrong person, especially when it came to Stacie's safety.

"Stay safe."

Beca nodded in return and opened the door. The hallway was as dark as their room, but the voices were quieter due to there being less pipe exposure. Beca walked down the hall, stopping in front of the basement door. "They have to be down there," she mumbled to nobody in particular. She pressed her ear to the door and was able to hear the voices more clearly, but when she turned the doorknob, it was locked. "Great, it locks from both sides. I have to find another way."

Searching for a solution, Beca's eyes landed on a map titled 'Dormitory Hall Evacuation Route'. The dashed line that indicated the escape route led to the storm cellar outside. "Looks like I'm going outside," she muttered with a sigh as she pushed through the dorm building's main doors. She turned to her left and walked to the edge of the building. She found the cellar doors located under a window, but there was a padlock placed on the slide lock, holding them shut.

Beca went to look for another way in the basement, not knowing how she would break the lock, when she tripped on a brick that was lying on the ground, making her fall. "God dammit, stupid brick," she cursed. She then kicked the brick away from her and stared at it until an idea struck her. "Okay, stupid brick. You may not be as useless as I thought you were." With her final remark, she stood and grabbed the brick, and sauntered over to the cellar doors, yet again. Before she attempted the destroy the padlock, Beca listened in on the conversation taking place, able to hear the voices through the doors.

"You are overreacting," a voice clearly coming from Luke stated.

"No, I'm not!" the other voice retorted. "You are unbelievable! You fucking coward!" Beca still couldn't recognize the unidentified voice, but knew it was a woman's.

"_Hey_, we are in this _together_. You will not put this all on me," Luke returned.

Beca decided now was a good time to take action, "Well, here goes nothing." She raised the brick above her head, praying the two wouldn't hear her, and smashed the padlock with the brick, forcefully breaking it. She dropped the brick at her feet and slid the slide lock to the left before opening one of the cellar doors. She descended the deteriorating concrete steps, entering the dark, dreary basement. There were a variety of objects scattered about, mostly being wooden student desks and metal shelves stacked with boxes.

"Damn it, Ashley. We don't even know for sure it was them." Beca's head whipped toward the source of the sound and she quietly crept toward the back of the basement, nearing the arguing culprits. "She also said he got bit, which means he isn't going to bother us."

"You know he's not alone," Ashley yelled back. "Those bastards are back and it's only a matter of time before they find us. You know that!" Beca continued her voyage until she hid behind a shelf, her figure hidden behind the numerous boxes the shelf contained. She was able to peek through some of the boxes and saw Luke standing with a flashlight in one hand.

"I don't know shit, and neither do you. Goddamn it Ashley, keep it together!" he interjected.

"There you go again, getting so mad..."

"Well, what do you want me to do? You're making me mad!"

"Oh, we have to tell the others. About what you did."

Beca ducked behind the boxes as the light came her way, but backed into a desk. _Damn you, clumsiness_.

"Who's there?" Luke questioned into the darkness. "Show yourself."

Beca revealed herself, causing Ashley to gasp in shock, "Beca..."

"What are you doing down here?" Beca interrogated the two, "...In the dark."

"Ashley and I were just talking, go get some sleep." Beca looked to Ashley, but the girl's focus was cast at the ground, a frown residing on her face. "You deserve some shut eye. You had a busy day," Luke continued trying to convince Beca.

"I _was _asleep. You guys woke me up."

"Sorry about that, I didn't think anyone would hear us," Ashley claimed, looking up for the first time.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?" Beca raised her voice, irritated at their attempts to rid her.

Luke stepped in front of Ashley and pointed the flashlight, so that the light shone in Beca's face. "It's really none of your business. Go back to the dorm," the British man commanded. Beca looked past Luke to the girl behind him, but Ashley quickly averted her gaze.

Suddenly, Ashley stepped aside Luke and blurted, "The man you met at the station. We got history with him."

"Ashley," Luke warned, turning to glare at her. "Don't listen to her, Beca, she's acting crazy. She gets this way sometimes, you just gotta tune it out," he chuckled.

Beca stepped closer to the blonde, "Let her speak, asshole."

"_Excuse me_!"

"I want to hear what she has to say," Beca said as she looked at Ashley. Ashley met her eyes, but this time, she didn't look away. "How do you know that guy?"

The inner debate Ashley was having could be seen, but after a few seconds, she spoke, "Luke let him take Jessica's sisters. Him and his people." Unable to digest the newly discovered information, Beca stood still as a statue, mouth hung open.

"Damn it, Ashley," Luke growled and stepped closer to her.

"Jessica's sisters? I thought they were killed by walkers?" Beca asked.

"That's the story we told everyone."

"Shut up!" Luke yelled.

His aggressive nature seemingly unaffected Ashley, for she continued, "Because Luke was so ashamed of what-"

"I said _SHUT UP_!" Luke screamed as he swung his arm back and forcefully brought the flashlight to Ashley's head, creating a large gash on her forehead. Ashley stumbled backward, falling against the boiler, covering her wound with her hand. Beca stepped away from Luke, mouth hanging open from shock. Luke stilled and stared at his victim, a mix of shock and concern written on his face, which was covered in blood spots.

Ashley gradually lifted her head from her hand, showing the large cut that was oozing blood down the right side of her face. Her confusion was obvious as she stammered, "Um... what'd you say?" Her body then fell into a pile of flesh and blood on the floor.

Luke dropped the flashlight and rushed to her side as soon as she fell. "Oh, shit, Ashley. I'm sorry!" he apologized rapidly.

"Shit! What have you done?"

Luke ignored Beca as he held Ashley, tears streaming down his face. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. You're gonna be okay, I promise," he quickly mumbled. He turned and looked at Beca, who was still standing in the same position. "God dammit, help!" He then returned to rambling to Ashley's limp body, "Why did you say that, Ashley? I... I told you not to say it."

"Get away from her," Beca demanded as she crouched on the opposite side of Ashley.

Luke ignored her and continued to shake the body in front of him. "Come on, Ashley. Come on."

"I mean it, Luke, step back!" Beca yelled at him. She definitely couldn't trust him after witnessing what the blonde British boy was capable of, and she didn't want him to harm Ashley even more.

"Okay... okay..." he said as he stood up. "Just... just stay with her. There's a first aid kit down here somewhere, right?"

Beca stared at him as he walked into the darkness. "A first aid kit?" Beca asked bewilderingly. He turned and shrugged in response before continuing his quest to find the first aid kit. She didn't understand how a first aid kit would help them in this situation: if she wasn't already dead, Ashley already lost too much blood. Beca returned her attention to the girl next to her and saw Ashley's head bobbing up and down. She quickly grabbed the girl's hand and reassured her, "Ashley... it's me, Beca. Just - just stay still."

Ashley looked up, toward Beca's voice, but didn't seem to see her, "Who? I... I can't see," she stammered.

"Beca, remember? We talked about going to the beach. Swimming... driving along the coast."

"Sun." Ashley eyes went wide, as if remembering something important. "Beca, you're in danger. You and Stacie both," she rushed.

"What danger?"

"Luke'll kill me if I tell you. He's scared, and when he's scared, he gets angry."

"I'll deal with Luke. I promise you that," Beca said confidently. She was definitely not going to let him get away with this.

"Yeah... yeah, you will. You're strong, and he's not," She agreed as she squeezed Beca's hand. "If those raiders come back... Luke said he'd let them take you."

"Take us?" Beca asked quizzically. She was overwhelmed with emotions and thoughts with everything that has happened in the preceding minutes.

"To make them go away. Like he did... like he did with Jessica's sisters," Ashley explained. Her body began convulsing, as if she was having a seizure, and then she went still, her body slumping further to the ground, and her hand slipping from Beca's.

"Oh, fuck, no," Luke whispered from behind Beca. He, again, dropped the flashlight he had grabbed from the floor in his search for the med kit, letting it roll across the basement. "Oh no. Oh no. What the hell am I going to do?" he asked to no one. He then gradually lifted his head to glare at Beca. "She's going to turn." Luke dashed to the cellar doors that led outside.

"Luke!" Beca yelled as she stood and ran after him, but she wasn't fast enough: Luke had reached the top of the stairs before her and shut the doors, sliding the lock to prevent Beca from opening the doors. "Luke, you son of a bitch, don't do this!"

Beca could see Luke staring at the doors, shaking his head, through the small gap of the doors. "I'm sorry. I can't... I can't let you talk to the others." With that, Luke escaped from sight, leaving Beca trapped in the basement.

Beca tried banging on the doors, but was unable to force them open. "Dammit! Luke! _Anyone!_" She screamed, trying to alert the others, but knew deep down that they wouldn't be able to hear her. She stopped and assessed her situation. "If I could find something really thin, I could force it through the gap, and lift up the latch," she murmured to herself. She went down the stairs, but couldn't see through the darkness. She looked ahead and spotted the beam coming from the flashlight, "Yes. Flashlight. That'll help." What she didn't see was Ashley's body, only a pool of blood in her place.

Beca silently walked toward the light. She could hear sudden growls and gargles emitted within the darkness. As she shifted past shelves and boxes, she found the flashlight in a corner of the room. Beca swiftly grabbed the much needed object and whipped her body around. The light landed on a rat that scurried under a few desks that were tucked away. Beca remained looking in the direction the rat went and spotted a ruler lying on the edge of a desk. She took the few steps needed to reach the ruler, and grabbed it. _Yes, this should work_.

She began maneuvering through the maze of metal shelves and desks, growling still present. As she stepped in front of the boiler, the light went out. Beca began hitting the flashlight against the palm of her hand until the light reappeared. As the light clicked back on, it revealed Ashley's walker form directly in front of her. Thinking quickly, Beca grabbed the shelf on her left and pulled it down, trapping the walker. She turned to her left and saw a hole large enough on the bottom rack of another shelf and crawled through it.

Beca ran to the cellar doors and stuck the ruler through the gap, but dropped it when a loud rumble of thunder alarmed her. She hastily grabbed the ruler when she heard a loud scream come from the other side of the room. After sticking the ruler through the gap again, Beca pulled the object upward, releasing the lock.

While pushing the doors open, she was pulled back, and fell down the stairs. The walker pounced on top of her, trying to reach her as Beca grabbed her throat and held her at arm's-length. She looked to her right and grabbed the flashlight that was on the ground next to her. She swung the hunk of metal as hard as she could at the walker's head, knocking its body to the side. She took advantage of the walker's new position and sat on top of it. Grabbing the flashlight with both hands, she slammed it into the head that lie beneath her. She slammed it again, and again, and again until the light shining from the stick was red and the face below her didn't resemble that of a human.

Beca stood above the corpse, anger and determination coursing through her. She made her way to the cellar doors and pushed them open, ascending to the courtyard. There was a downpour and thunder could be heard in the distance.

"Where's Beca?"

"Stacie, put the gun down!"

Everyone was grouped together in a semicircle in the courtyard surrounding Luke. Stacie stood with her gun drawn, pointing it at the British assailant. Sheldon was a couple paces behind Luke, barking at the encroaching people.

"Get this fucking psycho away from me!" Luke ordered the others.

"Where is she?" Stacie yelled back.

Luke stepped away from Stacie, "She's... she's in the basement. Sh- She murdered Ashley!" Gasps were heard around the group.

Beca had had enough of Luke's lies and decided to make her presence known; she threw the flashlight to the soil below her feet and started walking over to the crowd.

"Is that blood on your face?" Bumper questioned Luke. He reached up and touched his face, spotting the red liquid on his hand. A look of panic arose on his face and he stepped further back.

"Did you see it happen?" Jesse asked the man.

"Is she a walker now?" Lilly added.

Before the group noticed Beca walking up to them, she yelled, "Hey, Luke! You might want to get your story straight. You killed Ashley. You hit her so hard, her head split open."

"That's a lie! I saw you kill her!" he disputed.

Aubrey ran from the dormitory, joining the group, "What the hell is going on?"

Luke pivoted and pointed at Beca, "Look at her hands. She's covered in Ashley's blood!" Beca, along with the others, looked to her hands and saw the ample amount of blood on them.

"What did you do?" Jessica stepped up and asked.

Seeing Stacie was distracted, Luke ran toward her, grabbed the gun, and pushed her to the ground. He began waving the pistol around while yelling, "We saved their lives when anyone else would've kept walking! We fed them, kept them warm! And this is how they repay us? Guns being pulled... and _murder_!" He stopped the gun's sights on Beca and strided closer to her. "Well, _FUCK_! _THEM_!"

"What the fuck! Luke?" Jesse inquired.

"You shoot me and what do you offer up to your raider friends when they come knocking?" Beca responded.

"What the hell is she talking about?" Donald asked. Everyone seemed to be confused by the events taking place.

"He won't do it because he needs us alive," Beca replied confidently as she stepped closer to Luke.

"Shut up!" Luke screeched.

Beca ignored him and the gun he was pointing at her, "Ashley told me that Luke was going to give me and Stacie up to raiders in exchange for safety. The same way he gave up Chloe and Barbara!"

The crowd of people rounded to eye Luke, a gasp coming from Jessica, and Amy stating, "Oh my god!"

"Shut the fuck up, Beca!" Luke commanded.

"Let her talk!" Donald demanded Luke.

Beca took this opportunity to win the others over, "Ashley told me the truth, and _that's_ when Luke killed her."

"Aw, come the fuck on! They only met up with these "raiders" because Beca insisted they go out there. Quite the coincidence, isn't it? Shame I don't believe in those. Think about how scared we all were when everyone else left. I pulled us out of that fear. I gave us all courage again. Who are you all going to believe, huh? Some strangers you just met, or me? Your friend?"

Beca looked to Jesse and Aubrey for help, but they both looked away.

"She did help us get food," Jesse reasoned.

"What good is food if a group of outsiders is just going to come and take it?" Donald challenged.

"Man, this is fucked up," Amy voiced.

"Aubrey, you have to believe me."

Aubrey glanced up at Beca, not expecting to be called out, but was interrupted by Luke, "You don't! You met her like two days ago!"

Aubrey switched her attention back to Beca, "I don't know you, Beca. Not really. I'm sorry."

"This isn't like you. I know you're not weak!"

"Don't let her get in your head," Luke warned the tall blonde woman. "Hey, what would Chloe want you to do? She was my friend, too. So was Ashley.

"Beca, I..." Aubrey paused, not knowing which side to take in her inner debate. "Shit."

"We'll all feel safer... once I pull this trigger," Luke said while looking around the group.

Beca locked eyes with Aubrey and pulled her own trigger, her last shot, "If you were there that day those raiders came, he would've abandoned you, too!" The words hit Aubrey, and a switch flipped inside of her, as she glared holes into Luke's head. She walked over and stood in front of Beca and pulled out her butcher's knife.

"Aubrey being difficult. Why am I not surprised?" Luke laughed lightly.

"Put down the gun, now! We're going to do this the right way," Aubrey ordered.

"Stand down, Luke. Be reasonable," Donald requested.

The group began to walk toward Luke, effectively creating a barricade between him and Beca. Sheldon's growls grew louder the closer they got.

"You don't get it. You- you don't understand at all, do you? I'm trying to protect you! All of you! Every fucking one of you!" he yelled as he waved the gun around once more, provoking the others to take a step backward.

"He's lying to you. He can't - or won't - protect you. Look at what happened to Ashley. To Chloe, Barbara. You suck at protection," Beca asserted as she pushed her way to the front of the group, coming face-to-face with Luke again.

"Shut your fucking mouth! I made the right call. I saved the lives of everyone in this fucking school! If they came back... I'd do it again!"

The energy surrounding the small crowd immediately turned hostile.

"Excuse me?" Amy yelled at Luke.

"I didn't realize we were so fucking expendable!" Donald expressed.

"You told me they died!" Jessica screamed. Although the rainfall was coming down hard, it was evident that Jessica was crying.

"I had to save the rest of you, okay?"

"You gave my sisters away! Why would you do something like that? I trusted you, Luke! _They_ trusted you!"

"Easy, because he's a coward" Beca answered.

After a moment, Luke lowered the gun. "I wanted to get them. Stage some kind of rescue. Honest, Jess. I just couldn't. I was... I was too afraid," he admitted. His tone had lowered to a normal level at this point, guilt taking over.

"You killed Ashley because she knew?" Jessica asked the miscreant.

"Mhmm. I didn't mean to. I didn't want this. I wanted to save all of you. Chloe, Barb," Luke cried out.

"We can still fix this, Luke. It's going to be okay. We can make this right." Beca wasn't sure why she was consoling him after everything that has happened. Maybe it's because he gave them a home... a family.

"We're all family here. The only one any of us have left," Jesse mentioned.

Luke thought about what Jesse just said, and threw the gun. He pinched his nose and sighed, "I know I betrayed you. All of you... Just let me leave. You'll never have to see me again," Luke insisted, stepping closer to everyone else. "Just let me become... a bad memory." The crack in his voice indicated that he was crying. "Just give me that... please," he begged.

Beca stood in front of Luke, taking position in front of the group. "Go, and-" Beca was interrupted by a loud bang and a wave of blood hitting her face. Luke's body fell forward and Beca caught him, only to see the large hole that went through his forehead and out the back of his head. She dropped him and stared at her hands before looking up to see Stacie standing there with her pistol aimed.

O-o-O-o-O

**A/N: Again, sorry for taking so long to write this chapter. Hopefully it was good enough for you guys to forgive me XD**

**PS: Please don't hate me**


	6. A Familiar Face

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to come out with another chapter, but I was in Europe for three weeks and couldn't work on this. I should be getting the next few chapters out more frequently. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Magic2488: Thanks for the compliments and the review! I appreciate it very much. Also, Steca is my favorite ship, so even if I'm not making a Steca story, I'll most likely have them be very close.**

O-o-O-o-O

The sunlight was overflowing into the small dorm room, and the atmosphere was rather quiet. A clear contradiction to the events that took place the night before. Recalling exactly what happened in her head, Beca lay flat on her bunk bed, enjoying the calm while it lasted. After a moment, she sat up and looked around, not seeing Stacie in her bed, but near the desk, crouched over something on the floor.

Stacie rose from the ground and turned toward her while holding a coffee mug, "Made you some coffee. Don't worry, I didn't steal it. It was in the kitchen and Jess said I could have some."

Beca gladly took the coffee from Stacie's outreached hand and took a sip, the warm caffeinated drink scorching her mouth and throat. However, she welcomed the pain because it reminded her that this wasn't a nightmare, but her life, and there was yet another obstacle standing in their way. She sighed heavily before taking another sip, just hoping to delay the conversation to come.

However, before Beca could finish her cup of coffee, Stacie cut straight to the point, "Last night, with Luke… I heard Jesse, and what he called me." She took a moment, thinking about the events that occurred after the shooting last night. "I'm a murderer, aren't I?"

O-o-O-o-O

"_No!"_

"_Oh my god!"_

_Various outcrys exploded from the group as they recovered from the after shock of seeing their friend and leader die in front of them._

"_We could get medicine. From the nurse's office," Amy suggested in a panic._

"_He's dead! She blew his brains out!" Donald screamed in response while staring at Luke's dead body._

"_You shot him. He's dead," Jesse muttered to Stacie. "You-you're a murderer…" He then redirected his attention to Beca in order to get the point across to both the girls, "You promised Luke! You said you'd help him fix things!"_

_There was nothing said between either girl, the only noise that could be heard was the pounding rain and the rumbling thunder._

O-o-O-o-O

"Jesse called me a murderer. But… but I couldn't just let someone like him get away after the things he did," Stacie whispered, staring at her feet. "I didn't know what to do, I just reacted. Do I… do I deserve to be labeled as a murderer?" Beca looked up at Stacie's face and saw tears building up in her eyes. She honestly didn't know how to respond. How could someone respond to a question like that?

Beca cast her gaze toward the coffee as it continuously swirled around inside her coffee mug. "Jesse was right." Stacie glanced at Beca, but Beca didn't return the look. "Yes, he did do many things deserving of death, but… when you shot him, he wasn't a threat to us anymore. If you kill someone that's no longer threatening you, that's murder." Beca finally averted her gaze and noticed the despair in her face. She immediately stood and enveloped Stacie in her arms.

This was the breaking point for Stacie. As soon as she felt the small brunette's arms wrap around her slim frame, the dams holding back her tears fell, and rivers of salty water streamed down her face. "What are we gonna do?" Stacie choked out.

O-o-O-o-O

_The group stared at each other, nobody making a move. Aubrey looked past Beca and saw Bumper clench his fists. She decided to take action and moved in front of Stacie, waving her butcher knife in front of her. "Back off! All of you!"_

"_You talked Luke down, and then they fucking murdered him!" Jesse argued._

_Aubrey ignored Jesse's response and looked to Beca, "Take Stacie and go inside."_

_Beca nodded her head and walked forward, grabbing Stacie's hand in the process, "Come on, let's go."_

"_Oh, just let them go back to the dorms?" Jesse questioned in astonishment. "What happens the next time one of us does something this chick doesn't like? Should we expect a bullet too?"_

"_That's not what happened," Aubrey rebutted. Beca and Stacie were surprised that Aubrey was defending them after what happened, but decided not to question it._

"_It's exactly what happened!" Jesse stepped forward, breaking the distance between them. "It was over, until little Miss Trigger-Happy decided otherwise!"_

_Beca couldn't take Jesse's incompetence anymore and stepped next to Aubrey, "No, Stacie would never hurt any of you! It was- Luke threatened us!"_

"_Stacie pointed the gun first!" Jesse combated._

"_We get it, Jesse, just back off, okay?" Aubrey returned, stepping directly in front of him._

"_Back off? Seriously?" Jesse spat, fury rising in his voice._

_Beca turned to Stacie, "Let's go."_

"_Beca?"_

O-o-O-o-O

"Beca?"

Beca broke from her trance and rubbed her hands up and down Stacie's back to show she was paying attention.

"I'm a monster, aren't I?"

"You are many things Stacie, but you are definitely not a monster." This seemed to have the desired effect as Beca heard a faint, groggled laugh.

After a couple seconds of silence, Stacie began on the topic again, "They think I am. I wish they didn't."

Beca unwrapped herself from her lengthy friend and held her shoulders, looking directly in her eyes, "We will fix this. You and me. I'm going to help you atone."

"Come on, Beca. You know that I don't know big words."

"It's five letters, Stace…" Stacie laughed, causing the last of the unshed tears to fall. Beca reached up with both her hands and wiped the salty drops from Stacie's face. "It means, make up for what you did wrong. We'll make it all right with the others."

O-o-O-o-O

_A loud cry was heard from the middle of the group, "For God's sake, someone help me with this." Amy was kneeled next to Luke's lifeless body, trying to think of what to do with the body. _

_Loud sobs could be heard as Beca and Stacie walked alongside the edge of the school, walking toward the dorms. That is, until Bumper stepped in front of them._

"_Saved you from that car wreck, and you fucking murdered him?"_

"_Get back, Bumper" Beca warned, not afraid of having to force him out of their way,_

"_Or what?" Bumper yelled as he pulled out a small switchblade, pointing it at Beca's face. "You gonna let her kill me, too? Then who's next? Donald? Lilly?"_

_Beca swiftly grabbed his wrist and easily dislodged the knife from his hand before throwing it across the courtyard._

"_Screw both of you," Bumper said while shaking his head. The girls watched as he made his way back toward the group surrounding Luke._

O-o-O-o-O

Beca recognized the distant look in Stacie's eyes, the one she has seen many times over the past months. She dragged the tall girl to sit next to her on her bunk before questioning, "Hey, what is it?"

Without hesitation, Stacie blurted, "We've killed a lot of people."

A loud sigh emerged from Beca as she grabbed Stacie's hand in her own, "Yes, yes we have, but we don't have any other option in this world. We've tried being the passive ones before… you know how that ended."

"I know. I just wish things could be different. I love you, Beca."

"I love you, too," Beca whispered as she placed her head upon Stacie's shoulder. They sat like that for a while, enjoying the peace. Enjoying each other's company. Enjoying the fact that they are alive.

A knock sounded from the opposite side of the room and the door opened, revealing a somber looking Jessica. She waved and greeted, "Hey. Aubrey said to come get you for the funeral."

"Really?" Beca asked. Saying she was surprised was an understatement.

"We used to have them more. Then we stopped. It seems right, though." Jessica explained. Although Beca was aware of their graveyard, she didn't quite expect them to hold funerals. She also didn't expect for her and Stacie to be invited to someone's funeral who they killed. Jessica handed Stacie a piece of paper and stated, "I know it probably won't help, but I wanted to try to make you guys feel better."

Stacie looked to the paper and noticed it was a drawing. The three girls along with Aubrey were skillfully sketched into what looked to be a park. A carousel and food vendors were placed in front of a small pond. A small bridge could be seen in the background, a man and a woman occupying the middle, huddled close together as they fed a flock of ducks.

"Wow, I have no idea how someone could be so good at drawing," Stacie praised. "You are going to have to teach me some techniques some time."

Jessica blushed and smiled at the girl as she replied, "Yeah, I can show you a few things… but it should probably wait for after the funeral." The smile quickly faded as she continued, "They buried them already, Aubrey will start soon. I'm going to head back out. See ya out there." She quickly headed out of the room without looking at the two others.

"This is going to be hard," Beca groaned. She didn't think the best way to spend her time was to attend a funeral where all the attendees blamed her for the victim's death.

"Everyone's going to be upset. We need to show them we care, okay?" Stacie reasoned. She didn't want to go either since she's the one who pulled the trigger, but she knew she had to.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

The two brunettes headed out of their shared dorm room and made their way through the courtyard. They walked over to the makeshift graveyard seeing everyone else was already present, surrounding two new crosses marked 'Luke' and 'Ashley'. There was no sound being made excluding the creatures living in the woods nearby. Amy was the first to pay her respects by placing a handful of flowers she had gathered on Ashley's grave. Sheldon could be heard whining as he sat in front of Luke's mound of dirt. Beca wondered if both bodies were actually buried under there, and if so, how they were able to handle seeing Ashley's dismantled walker face.

Lilly was the first to notice the encroaching girls and sneered at them. A domino-like effect took place as one after another peered over to see what Lilly was looking at, almost all adopting hostile features.

"Oh god, they're here," Donald grumbled.

"So what? They knew Ashley, didn't they?" Aubrey challenged with a piercing stare. Beca had noticed the obvious change in Aubrey's demeanor ever since she had asked for her help last night. Aubrey seemed to be more protective over Beca and Stacie, and Beca liked it.

"Yeah, but Luke-" 

"Just leave them alone," the tall blonde snapped at the lanky Indian boy.

"Shit," Jesse sighed.

Aubrey chose to take the initiative and turned to Jessica, "Jess, you ready?"

The girl in question nodded her head and stepped forward. "Ashley. You always told us that you wanted to go to the beach, so, I drew it for you." Her voice became distorted as she tried to manage the oncoming tears. She placed the drawing on the mound of dirt in front of the cross, placing a rock on it so it wouldn't fly away. As she did so, a teardrop fell onto the paper.

Aubrey nodded at Jessica to show her appreciation and strode toward Luke's grave. "Luke was…" she paused, before continuing, "I can't. Not for Luke. After what her did to the sisters and Ashley, I-"

"You didn't even like Ashley! You were always mean to her," Lilly voiced.

A look of disappointment and guilt spread across the blonde's face as she glanced at the others. "I can't. Someone else do it."

As she began to walk to the back of the semicircle, Bumper whispered, "Bitch."

"Dude, don't," Jesse defended.

"Seriously, Jesse? He was your best friend," Bumper raised his voice at the other man. "He wasn't perfect, but he deserved better than to get gunned down by that whore," he said while turning and pointing at Stacie. "She killed him like it was nothing. We all saw it, and nobody stopped her."

Beca was trying to stay calm, but the instant someone targets Stacie, she can't control her rage. People can make fun of her, and she couldn't give two shits, but once it came to Stacie, her protective side came out. "I don't appreciate your tone, fatass," Beca growled as she stepped closer to him.

"Yeah? Well I don't appreciate your little girlfriend murdering my friend!" Bumper yelled back.

"I know I'm a murderer." Stacie abruptly interrupted, causing the bickering to cease. "I'm going to atone."

"Fuck, I can't listen to this," Jesse mumbled as he started walking away.

Stacie watched him walk further from the group before going on, "I'll do as much as I can to make it up to you, I promise."

"You don't have to make up shit!" Aubrey yelled furiously. "Luke was a fucking murderer, and a liar, and if we'd all asked more questions about Chloe and Barb disappearing last year, none of this would've happened!"

"She's got a point," Donald agreed quietly.

"Shut up! It wasn't Luke's fault," Bumper argued.

"Then whose fault was it?" Aubrey inquired. Everyone's voices at this point had gotten to a yelling level.

Beca didn't want to leave Aubrey out to dry after everything she's done for them, so she backed her up, "Aubrey's right. You all share responsibility for what happened to Chloe and Barbara. And to Ashley."

"And what about Luke? Who's responsible for that?" Bumper challenged.

"Me," Stacie said quietly. 

"See what I mean? How can any of us trust these fucking people?"

"What are you saying?" Aubrey growled at the chubby man-child.

"I'm saying they gotta fucking go. We take a vote. Majority decides: they stay or they leave. Today."

Panic rose in Beca's throat and she was rooted to the ground. She knew there would be massive consequences, but she didn't think they would kick them out. They were on the road for so long before they came here that she took their time here for granted.

"That does seem fair," Amy concurred.

"Are you serious? It's bullshit!" Donald declared.

"You're bullshit," Bumper retorted. He then turned to Beca and Stacie, "We brought you here. That means we can get rid of you, too."

"That is fucked up! After all Luke did," Aubrey disputed.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," Lilly said.

"A vote is the only way to settle this, or we'll be arguing forever," Jessica asserted.

"Fine, I guess we're fucking voting," Aubrey scoffed. "Jesse needs to vote. Could you go get him? And try to talk to him," she requested to Jessica.

Jessica nodded and looked to Sheldon, who was now lying on Luke's grave, "Come on, Sheldon. Come here, boy." The large dog huffed in response and showed no signs of moving any time soon. Sighing, Jessica walked in the direction of the main building.

Aubrey switched her attention to the female brunette duo, "Could you guys go wait in the dorm? I'll come get you."

Beca and Stacie exchanged glances and headed back to their room. What they didn't see was Aubrey staring at their backs as they walked, a mourning look on her face.

O-o-O-o-O

Beca and Stacie were sat on Beca's bunk, huddled next to each other with Beca's head lying on Stacie's shoulder. The two have been through more than anyone could have imagined, and here they were, enduring yet another set of complicated trials. Beca pondered what life may have been like if the apocalypse had not occurred. Maybe she would be in college, or maybe she would be working full-time while sharing an apartment with Stacie. She then began to compare her past life with her current and couldn't help but think how they couldn't be more different. But one thing never changed. Her and Stacie stuck by each other's side through thick and thin.

Beca felt Stacie's body rise and fall and she took a deep breath. "I don't want to go," Stacie spoke quietly.

"I know you don't." was the short response that came from the shorter girl.

"I like knowing where we are all the time. The bed. The food. I like the other people. Well, not all of them, but the girls are cool."

Before either one said another word, a knock came from the door. The door slowly opened, revealing Aubrey and Jesse. The two girls stood from their position on the bed and patiently waited for the fateful words to come.

Aubrey took a step forward, taking a spot in front of the girls. However, she wouldn't look them in the eyes. "We took the vote. You have to leave," she disclosed. The tall blonde finally made eye contact, the anguish within them clearly seen.

"Don't we get to vote? I vote that we stay," Stacie rushed in a desperate attempt to alter their decision.

"That's not how it works," Jesse abruptly shut her down.

Aubrey turned to her left, toward Jesse, "Maybe it should be," she argued. Her face had quickly changed from sadness to anger.

"You don't have to like it."

"Good, because I don't."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Beca interjected.

Jesse looked at Beca, "What'll help me sleep at night is knowing you two are gone." Beca was shocked, to say the least. Yes, she expected rough treatment after killing one of their friends, but she didn't think Jesse would be this straightforward.

"You can be such a shithead, Jesse," Aubrey accused resentfully. "So fucking stupid."

"You said you'd go along with it, if we voted fairly," Jesse claimed, continuing their argument that seemingly began before they entered the room.

"It's bullshit, and you'd know it if you weren't so used to burying your head in the sand."

"Oh, I'm burying my head in the sand? Hate Luke all you want but you can't tell me Stacie isn't dangerous, too," he raged. Their voices had been gradually rising until they were competing in a yelling match.

The two ceased their bickering in order to finish the task at hand. The room was dead silent for a few moments until Aubrey informed the two brunette girls, "We'll wait for you to pack up, then Jesse and I will escort you out past the safe zone. We'll make sure you get to the road safely. It's not a lot, but at least you won't die on the way."

"We could've happily dumped you outside the gates," Jesse commented. He was quickly silenced by Aubrey's deadly stare.

Beca was emotionally and physically drained after these past few days, and to be honest, she was done with all the bullshit. "Don't bother. We don't want your help." She didn't mean to be so direct because Aubrey was trying to help them, but she was mainly directing her statement toward Jesse.

"So, don't think of it as help. Think of it as us making sure you really leave," the boy responded agitatedly.

"Where's Jessica? I need to say goodbye," Stacie asserted. The two had become very close for only knowing each other for such a short amount of would often be seen talking to each other in various places, or Stacie would be seen examining Jessica while she was drawing.

"She was really upset about the vote, and she's not talking to anybody," Aubrey claimed. "It's best to leave her alone when she's like this, but… For the record, she wanted you to stay."

Jesse shook his head before a look of realization appeared on his face, "Wait. Does Stacie still have that gun?"

Stacie stared at him as if daring him to take it from her, "Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Hand it over," he demanded, sticking his hand out.

"Is this necessary?" Aubrey inquired.

"Hell yes, it's necessary."

"It's mine, and you sure as hell aren't taking it," Stacie stated defensively.

"Fine, let the girl keep the murder weapon," Jesse sighed loudly, seemingly giving up. He then proceeded to turn and stand in the doorway.

Beca and Stacie hastily recovered all of their belongings and stuffed them inside the backpack they had brought with them. In a measly couple minutes, the girls had gathered everything they had. Beca stopped and looked around the room, taking in every detail. She couldn't help but think that this may be the last bedroom she gets to sleep in.

The four walked out of the room, and began their venture, not a word being exchanged between the group.

O-o-O-o-O

The silence continued as they journeyed through the large mass of woods, the setting sun visible between the gaps in the trees. The continuous thump of their boots and the occasional crunch and snap when someone stepped on leaves or a fallen branch filled the air. Beca looked back to where Aubrey and Jesse were walking. The two decided it best that Beca and Stacie walk in the front of the pack. The two duos were separated by about ten paces. Everyone had their weapons drawn in the case of an ambush of walkers.

Stacie was the one to break the unspoken silence pact, "Think we'll get another car?" she asked her best friend.

"Probably not. We got lucky before." Beca didn't want to be so pessimistic, but after being thrown into the wild with nothing but what they came with and a duffel bag of food, there wasn't much to be optimistic about.

"So, we're walking," the tall girl sighed heavily. "We're going to have to get new shoes again. These will probably wear out like all the others."

"We'll look for some, but we just have to hope they hold out."

"Yay, can't wait for my feet to bleed again," Stacie replied, her voice flooding with sarcasm.

"We can just tear up a shirt and tie them up, like we did last time."

"It's not so bad," Jesse voiced from behind them. Beca turned and sent him a glare that could put him six feet under. His features changed as if he had just realized what he said, "I mean, you've done this before," he tried to justify his claim. "Probably pretty good at it by now. Almost like going home for you guys."

"You've lived inside walls your whole life," Beca spat. "You have no fucking idea what it's like out there."

Aubrey suddenly stopped, "We're here." Everyone else stopped when she spoke. "The road's that way," she said while nodding her head to their left. She then looked at Jesse, "Anything you want to say before we go?"

"I've said plenty."

"Thanks for trying to keep us," Stacie acknowledged Aubrey.

"You're welcome. I wish you could stay," Aubrey responded mourningly. "I didn't want this."

"Come on, let's just go," Jesse urged.

"Give us a minute, would you?" Aubrey asked.

"If you really feel that way, take us back," Beca challenged, her fuck everyone attitude returning once they were told they had to leave the school.

"I can't Beca. Half of them are convinced you're as bad as Luke, or worse. If you came back, someone else might get hurt. I-I can't risk it, I'm sorry." At that moment, she turned and headed back in the direction they came.

Jesse watched as Aubrey walked away before spinning to look at Stacie, "Still got that gun?" Stacie pulled it out from her side to show him. "Just, try to be more careful with it. Okay?" he continued.

"I will," Stacie confirmed confidently. The two girls stared at Jesse's back as he caught up to Aubrey. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of crows cawing into the void of forest.

"Let's get going. The sun will set soon," Beca ordered quietly.

The two continued on the path toward the road. "Will we be okay?" Stacie asked worriedly. "I thought we were finally done running."

"Of course we'll be okay," Beca assured. She was confident in their ability to survive, especially after everything they've lived through. "We're used to this."

Without warning, a loud explosion-like sound blasted next to them.

"Hide!" Beca yelled as her and Stacie ran off to their right and each hid behind a tree. Beca peered from behind her cover and she couldn't believe her eyes. There, walking with a sawed-off shotgun in hand, was the stranger from the train station. The same one Stacie had shoved into a pack of walkers. The only difference in appearance was a missing right arm that was severed above the elbow.

"Now, come on out. I saw a couple of you on the path. How long you think you can hide?"

"Oh, shit," Beca whispered.

Stacie peeked at who Beca was looking at and gasped, "That's the man from the train station. I thought he died."

"You can survive a bite, if you cut it off fast enough," Beca replied. They've both seen people attempt to do so, but each time they've failed. The man was steadily approaching their hiding spot, so Beca pulled out her knife. "Stay here," she demanded. She then charged forward, knocking into the man, causing the gun to fall to the ground. However, before she could thrust her knife forward, the scruffy man grabbed her wrist. Seeing she was in trouble, Beca swept her leg behind his knee, kicking it from under him.

The man stumbled to the ground and looked up at her, "Tough little bitch, aren't ya?" he growled.

"Fuck you," Beca returned.

Before she could do anything else, she felt a gun pressed to the back of her head. She slowly raised her hands and watched as the man in front of her struggled to stand up. He grabbed his gun off the ground and rammed the hilt into Beca's stomach, making her double over in pain. She was then kicked from behind, successfully pushing her flat on the ground. The same foot that had kicked her was then pressed against her neck.

All of a sudden, Stacie rushed from her spot, gun aimed. The man they had seen swiftly pointed his gun at her, "I wouldn't girl. Any closer, your friend might get her head blown off."

"Warren," the mysterious person warned. Beca had deduced that it was the voice of a woman, and a voice she knew all too well.

The guy named Warren slowly walked toward Stacie, "Good to see ya again." With one swift movement, he swung the gun and hit Stacie in the side of her head.

"Don't!" Beca raged. She would take all the brute damage if it meant Stacie wouldn't be harmed.

Warren then grabbed Stacie's arm and picked her up. "I seen these ones before. Fighters, both of them. You'll like them."

The woman above them spoke, "We're looking for a kid, runs a community near here."

"Luke," Warren added.

"He's dead," Beca answered.

"Well, shit," came from the person standing on her.

"This can still work," Warren said.

"How about it? You want to take us back to your school, help us talk to your friends?" the woman suggested. "It's not like you have many other options."

"It's not my school. I don't live there," Beca grunted. She howled in pain as the woman stepped on her neck even harder.

"I find that very hard to believe. Not a lot of kid communes around here."

Stacie yelled out in pain as the man bent her arm, pushing the limit it can bend. "Don't!" Beca shouted at the man. "Let her go! Please!"

"Sure, if you do like we ask. Otherwise, I'm happy to crack her head open. You ever seen old fruit explode after you throw it at something? That's just how it'll look."

Without being able to respond or ponder what was just said, Beca was kicked in the face, causing her to roll over onto her back.

"Beca!" Stacie shrieked.

Beca grunted and lifted herself onto her elbows. She looked up at her assailant, and found herself shocked beyond belief for the second time this interaction. She had a feeling once she heard the accent, but to see _her_ face…

"Oh my," the woman said, shock apparent on her face. "Why, hello there Little Maus."


	7. What Once Was

"_We can't take risks like this!"_

"_And we can't just let people die, either."_

_Beca couldn't fully concentrate on the argument being held, for the adrenaline was still very much present in her body. Stacie, her father, and herself had just made it to a small town in Georgia called Macon, when their pickup truck had run out of gas. They were being backed into a corner by these zombie-like creatures when people came out of a nearby pharmacy and rescued them. The two who saved them, one being a shorter man with curly, light-brown hair, and the other, a tall brunette who definitely knew her way around a gun, brought them inside the pharmacy where others were located._

_Beca could understand this foreign blonde's hostility. Everyone was on edge as they watched people turn into these beasts and feed on the living. This pandemic started less than a week ago, occurring in almost every major city, including Atlanta, which is where Beca lived with her father and Stacie. Ever since these things started appearing, it's been impossible to move around without seeing them, and their ranks are only growing._

"_When I say 'that door stays shut no matter what' I fucking mean it," the blonde hissed at the girl who helped them. "We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous," she reasoned in a more calm tone._

"_Or worse: they could've led them right to us," an older man with a full head of gray hair spoke. Now that Beca heard his voice, she easily recognized the man. He was the voice behind the most popular radio show in Atlanta._

"_Where the hell is your humanity? They would've died out there," the brunette girl argued._

"_Then we let 'em" the man who was quickly getting on Beca's nerves answered._

"_Come on, these are just kids," Beca's father stated. Beca looked to him. She's been told many times that the two look very much like each other, and since they've spent most of her life being around each other, she ended up adopting his mannerisms as well, making her the spitting image of her father. The only difference between them was their gender and height. He was very tall and muscular while also wearing a full beard. Some often mistook him as a lumberjack due to his appearance and wide variety of flannels._

"_I see two girls who look like women to me," the other man snarled._

"_They've got kids, Kommissar," an asian woman who was standing off to the side expressed. Beca had not even seen the girl when they came in because she was so quiet._

"_Those things outside don't care," Kommissar retorted._

"_Maybe you should go join them, then. You'll have something in common with them," Beca's father replied angrily._

"_God dammit, Kommissar. You have got to control these people," the radio host ordered. From what Beca could tell, this Kommissar woman was the leader of this small group._

"_Emily and Benji just ran out there," she responded exasperatedly._

"_I don't give a flying fuck. We're in a war zone!"_

"_She's not wrong. They took a risk," Beca mentioned. She didn't want to be fighting the living if they were already fighting the dead._

"_Yes we did," the tall blonde agreed coldly._

"_And we appreciate it. Now let's settle down," Beca continued._

"_Yes, please," the girl Beca assumed was Emily concurred._

"_Now, onto important matters," Stacie interjected, "Is there a bathroom in here?"_

"_In the back corner," the asian woman informed while pointing to the back right corner of the pharmacy._

_Everyone started to calm down again, spreading out throughout the small building and creating their own small groups. Beca walked over to the tall brunette that saved them in the street, who she now knew was Emily, and thanked her, "Thank you, again… for what you did."_

"_Yeah, of course," Emily said while smiling, "I couldn't let a cutie like you die out there," she winked, laughing at Beca's attempt to hide her blush._

_At that moment, there was a scream heard from the back. Beca rushed over to the source of the sound to see a walker crawling from the bathroom toward Stacie. Without thinking, Beca grabbed the walker's shoulders from behind and tore it away from Stacie, "Get away from her you son of a bitch!" It was at that moment Beca knew she had royally screwed up. The walker turned and latched onto her, wrestling to get closer. A loud bang went off and the undead was finally dead. Beca looked to her right while trying to catch her breath and saw Emily standing there with her gun still aimed._

O-o-O-o-O

"_Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't have anything to do with it!"_

"_Kommissar, lay off of him."_

_A large bump made the RV shutter violently. "Shit!"_

"_What's going on up there?" Kommissar asked._

"_I hit something, we gotta stop!"_

_The tall blonde German woman returned her attention to the boy she was interrogating. "Alright, well, we can deal with this now, then."_

"_John, is it safe?" Beca's father asked._

"_Should be," he announced from the front of the vehicle._

"_Everybody out," Kommissar ordered._

"_Kommissar…" Beca's father warned. Tensions had been at an all-time high for this group recently. They had lost quite a few people, but also gained some stragglers. Among those lost were Benji and Kimmy Jin, the asian woman that they first met at the pharmacy a few weeks ago. After the bandits raided their last camp the other day, Kommissar has been doubting everyone. According to the raiders, someone had made a deal with them to give them medicine and goods for safety. Beca's father was the one who found a hidden bag of meds outside the camp and revealed it to Kommissar. The German woman seemed to trust Beca and her father, so her rage was more directed at the other few people._

_Their group now consisted of Beca, Stacie, Beca's father, John the radio host, Emily, Tom who was apart of a trio that the group brought in, and of course, Kommissar. Everyone made their way out of the RV and John walked toward the front as the others gathered in a circle._

"_The RV has some surface damage, but there's a walker trapped underneath," John revealed. "Keep your eyes peeled as I deal with this."_

_Kommissar took this as her queue to continue unleashing her wrath on Tom, whom was her prime suspect for the raider deal, "You know what, we shouldn't just kick you out, we should hear what everybody thinks."_

"_I think you should chill out," Tom panicked. Beca would be embarrassed for the man if the situation wasn't so serious: Tom is a tall, young, athletic, and muscular guy who was cowering to this German woman._

"_I'm not going to take this," Emily said. She also has been a prime suspect in the case, but Kommissar is almost convinced now that it's Tom. "You can push Tom around, but you can't push me around."_

"_I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm starting to think that maybe it was both of you."_

"_This dumb fucking walker," John grunted from up front._

"_You okay over there?" Beca's father asked._

"_Yeah, yeah. Son of a bitch."_

"_Then you have no other options," Kommissar continued her interrogation._

"_Leave him alone," Emily demanded._

_Kommissar didn't acknowledge Emily and began talking to Tom again, "You can tell me it was Emily and then everything will be right as rain."_

"_There's no way it was Emily. It was somebody else. It could've even been someone sneaking into our camp," Beca defended the girl. The two had become close over the span they have known each other and have become a little bit more than friends, if the constant flirting and close proximities meant anything._

"_That's ridiculous. That's what you think?" Kommissar asked incredulously._

_Beca was going to stand her ground and defend Emily, "Yes," she stated firmly._

"_Okay, fine then. John?"_

"_I don't know! Fuck! Just stop, would ya?"_

"_We don't need all these votes! What do I have to do for you to trust me? I'll do anything!" Tom pleaded with the German. "I'll take night watches for months!"_

"_To hell you will."_

"_I'll get more food, more medicine, anything! Just-"_

"_You think any of that is good now?" Kommissar raged at him._

"_Just let me stay, please!"_

"_You're pathetic. Look at you."_

_Stacie stepped forward and tried to calm the situation, "Stop panicking. Seriously Tom, you need to stop and just take a breath."_

"_Do we need any more evidence than this"? Kommissar questioned furiously._

"_Fuck evidence! Stop treating him like this," Emily yelled._

"_Shut up, Emily. I've heard enough out of you." the blonde snapped. "John! What's it going to be?"_

"_Just give me a damn minute!" he urged as he continued dismantling the walker from the RV._

"_Tom, you have until that walker is dealt with to tell me it was her and not you," Kommissar said while pointing to Emily._

"_Stop this. You're torturing him!" Emily pleaded._

"_This is about trust and I've never trusted you," Kommissar growled while glaring angrily at Tom._

"_Kommissar, lay off," Beca insisted._

"_I can't Little Maus, you know I can't."_

"_Thank you, Becs," Emily expressed before turning her attention back to the blonde German, "Please, listen to her."_

"_Please don't kick me out of the group!" Tom cried loudly._

"_We won't," Beca's father assured._

"_Tell me. Now!" Kommissar demanded._

"_There! I got him," John voiced while dragging the body off to the side of the road._

"_Please, let's just get back in the RV," Tom requested quietly._

"_That's not happening."_

"_You think you're a tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you, but you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it," Emily hissed. The others were surprised by this outburst because Emily has been the nicest person in the group and has never shown any hostility before. "Take a page from Beca's book and try helping someone for once."_

_Everyone turned toward John as they heard him smash his boot through the walker's rotted skull. He began making his way over to the group and paused when he saw everyone looking at him, "Now what the fuck's the problem?"_

_That question would be answered immediately by a gunshot. One that went through Emily's head and out the other side. The group stood silently, all staring at the girl's limp body that now lie on the side of the road. Beca's father swiveled and saw Kommissar with her pistol out, and instantly shoved her against the RV, effectively disarming her._

"_Holy fuck…" John whispered, not being able to look away from the bloody mess made of Emily's body. Seemingly coming to his senses, he began taking charge, "Get in! We're leaving this crazy bitch!"_

_Beca's father maintained his hold on Kommissar as she sat there… not saying a word. The only thing she did do was look to Beca._

"_Wh-what are we going to do with her?" Tom stuttered._

"_Leave her for the walkers," John declared._

"_Why? Why Kommissar?" Beca inquired. Beca thought she would answer her, for Beca was the only one Kommissar ever opened up to, but after seeing she wasn't going to answer, Beca concluded, "You're not coming with us."_

_She still didn't say a word, but the pain was present in her eyes, if only for a second. "I'll die out here," she finally voiced._

"_I don't care," Beca said coldly. This caused the blonde to look to the ground for the first time, her resolve breaking at those words._

"_You're a murderer, Kommissar. We can't have you with us," Stacie agreed._

"_I was trying to protect all of us," she mumbled in return. "I don't have anything left," she replied while looking back into Beca's steel-blue eyes._

"_Let's go you guys," John said while walking into the RV. Not another word was exchanged as everyone else followed. Everyone except for Beca. They stood there and stared at each other for what seemed like hours, but was only seconds. With that, Beca boarded the RV and watched Kommissar's figure become smaller and smaller as they sped away._

O-o-O-o-O

Seeing her face again brought so many memories upon Beca, both good and unpleasant. She didn't know if she was happy to see this face. Kommissar could pose a threat just as easily as anyone else, but there was that possibility that she still held a soft spot for Beca, and that could be their saving grace.

"Remember me? I sure remember you," Kommissar said while smiling. It wasn't a smile that you would see on an enemy's face. It was a smile you would see on a friend's face. "It's been quite a while, hasn't it? Several years I believe."

"Kommissar? I thought you died…" Beca trailed off. She was so shocked, she couldn't move. She was sitting on the rough ground, staring at the person above her with an open mouth.

"I… came close," the blonde woman admitted. She went quiet, but offered her hand to Beca.

"What the hell?" they heard from Warren.

"Not now," Kommissar asserted.

"The fuck is this?" he proceeded to ask.

Beca gladly accepted Kommissar's hand and was pulled on her feet. The two took a moment to look each other over a bit more now that they weren't trying to kill each other. After she was satisfied, Kommissar started again, "So, your father isn't with you?" When there was no response from the shorter girl in front of her, she confirmed, "So, he's dead, then… I'll never forget him leaving me on the side of the road to die. I don't blame him. I was clearly a threat to the group after I shot that girl."

"Emily," Beca interrupted. She never would have thought that she would say that name again, or have to think about what could have been.

She must have hit a sore spot because Kommissar's face quickly distorted into a scrunched up look of anger. "Dave should've left you behind, too. Might have lived longer if he did. Same thing will happen to you, if you repeat his mistakes," she growled. When saying the last part, she looked over to Stacie, who was still being held by her captor. "You'll die protecting her. You may be able to keep this up for a while longer, but eventually she'll slow you down. A walker you didn't spot. A bullet you couldn't dodge. A desperate cry for help that brings the herd."

Beca stepped forward, going face-to-face with the German who plagues her memories, "I don't think so. Stacie can handle herself."

Kommissar laughed in Beca's face, "She's got spirit, I'll give you that. But you and I know that won't be enough. Unless she has drastically changed from the last time I've seen her, she won't make it much longer."

"Fuck, we don't have time for all of this," Warren urged Kommissar.

She turned to the shaggy man and snapped, "We've got history."

"Great, you know her, I know her. Point is, we've got a job to do," he replied sarcastically.

Kommissar refocused her attention on Beca, "We can help you guys, Little Maus, but we need you to do something for us."

"What? Help you kidnap a couple more kids?" Beca hissed. Yes, she and Stacie were no longer on good terms with them, but she would never give up their friends.

"We don't need a couple. We need all of you," Warren interrupted.

"We'll take you back to the Delta to join our people. We have walls. We have working solar panels, and we grow our own food. All we need from you is to go back to your friends and convince them to come peacefully. No one will be harmed," Kommissar offered.

"I'm not Luke," Beca stated.

"Here's what I'll do," Warren voiced while tightening his grip on Stacie, "I'll take this little girly here right now." Beca was about to threaten him when she saw something moving in the woods beyond the man. Crouching toward them, about twenty yards away, was Jesse and Aubrey, weapons ready. Warren must not have noticed Beca's gaze alter because he continued, "That way, I'm sure you'll play nice."

"Be smart about this, Maus," the German cautioned threateningly. "It's an us-or-them kind of world, Maus," she tried to convince the short brunette further. "If you want to save your friend, you won't pick them."

No matter how bad she wanted to yell for Aubrey to shoot her bow, she couldn't. There was that small part of her that still cared for this woman, and she didn't want to be the reason she died. So, she did what her heart told her to do, "Run!" The two in the woods hesitated before taking off. Both Warren and Kommissar turned to look at who she was yelling to, Warren throwing Stacie to the ground in the process. Warren aimed his shotgun and unloaded a buckshot to where they were running, a scream emerging from Jesse's mouth as blood spurted from his shoulder.

Beca ran and grabbed Stacie as Warren ran after the others. "Come on!" she yelled as they turned and ran the opposite direction. Warren shifted his attention to the two girls upon hearing them and shot another round in their direction. Beca stopped and helped Stacie who had stumbled to the ground. Stacie took off running again as Beca looked behind them and saw both assailants charging toward them. The girls cowered as they heard another shot ring out, but proceeded to sprint.

A different gun was heard as Kommissar shot her rifle, hitting the tree beside Beca. As if things couldn't get any worse, a herd of walkers were quickly approaching from either side. Beca and Stacie dodged and weaved through the herd, but their two attackers weren't as lucky. The walkers effectively distracted them from the girls as multiple shots were heard, each one become softer the further the girls ran.

"I think we lost them," Beca panted heavily.

"Becs!" Stacie weakly yelled. She was slumped against a tree, arm covering her stomach. Beca went to help her best friend, but realized she didn't have the time due to numerous encroaching walkers. Staying relatively close to Stacie, Beca exterminated most of them, until one of the undead grabbed her wrists. Beca panicked, fearing that her life was over and that she would fail to protect Stacie.

"No."

She heard a faint whisper.

She paused, stopping her struggling. It was then she realized that the walker is the one who whispered to her. She let out a scream of surprise before the walker placed a hand over her mouth, "Stop!" it advised. "Too loud."

Beca ceased her movements and looked at the walker. Really looked at it. It wasn't a walker at all, but just a mask made from walker skin. Below that mask was the face of a young man. He then slowly shuffled away, toward the other zombies, picked up a large rock, and threw it against a tree, causing the remaining walkers to walk toward the noise and away from the girls.

The man walked back over to the girls and ordered, "Follow." The girls looked up at him strangely before Beca leaned over to help Stacie up. She had to hold the tall girl up as they walked, so they were significantly slower.

The three journeyed long enough for the sun to set, and for it to become nighttime. They arrived at a small clearing with logs setup in the middle and the man finally spoke again, "There." He pointed to one of the logs near a fire pit and Beca helped Stacie lie on it. The masked hero then brought over a stick that was ablaze.

Stacie raised her shirt and revealed the gruesome wounds on her stomach. There were multiple small divots in her flesh, some containing shrapnel from the buckshot. Stacie looked into Beca's eyes and nodded. They knew what had to be done. Beca grabbed her knife and gripped the blade. She then carefully dug the tip into a crater and dislodged a piece of shrapnel. Stacie grunted and hissed in pain, but made sure to keep quiet.

"Don't worry Sparrow, there's only two more. You're doing great," Beca whispered. It pained her to see her best friend in this much pain, but it had to be done. She then continued to remove another piece of shrapnel, and then the last. She placed her hands on the wound to stop the bleeding while the walker-man went off to grab something. He returned with a roll of duct tape and proceeded to wrap Stacie's abdomen.

"It's enough, for now," he declared.

Stacie grabbed Beca's hand and asked, "Where's our stuff? My gun?"

Beca stayed silent for a minute before answering, "We lost it." Stacie sighed loudly, grunting in pain afterward. Beca knew that the gun was important to Stacie, but they couldn't worry about that with Stacie's injuries.

"Jesse got shot," Stacie spoke.

"I saw."

"They saved us."

"Yeah, they did."

The man, who was still wearing his mask, had successfully started a fire while they were conversing. Once the voices stopped and the girls got settled near the fire, the masked man spoke, "I didn't mean to endanger you. The walkers were sent to help you."

"You sent the walkers?" Beca asked. She was bewildered at the thought of someone being able to control and manipulate hordes.

"Was part of a group. Called themselves Whisperers. They've learned to live in herds, among walkers. Move among them. Sometimes, guide them," he explained.

"Why are you alone? If you were part of a group?" Beca asked cautiously. She figured they had died, since that's what happened to every group nowadays.

"They attacked a community. I saw the carnage. Didn't want to be apart of it," he responded while keeping his gaze fixed on the ashes that were dancing among the flames.

Beca was surprised by his answer. Nobody in this world would willingly leave a group to travel solo, and all because they attacked another faction.

A stillness made its presence until Stacie's coughing disturbed the very much needed peace.

"You okay?" Beca questioned the leggy girl who sat to her left.

"Hungry," she replied weakly.

The man, who still wore his veil of flesh, reached into his pocket, and took out an apple, offering it to Stacie, "Eat. Both of you."

Stacie took it and smiled to show her gratitude.

After they both ate a few bites, Beca decided to finally ask, "Do you have a name?"

"Been a while," was his short response.

"Since?" she inquired.

"I've said it." After those words, he reached behind his head and took off his mask, revealing waves of kempt brown hair and a nicely groomed beard. It looked as if the apocalypse had no effect on his physical appearance. As if he regularly visited a barber shop in order to maintain his cleanliness. He looked to the ground before raising his chocolate brown eyes to the girls in front of him, "Theo."

"Why did you help us, Theo?" Stacie wondered aloud.

"The people who attacked you. What do you know about them?" he queried, not answering the question.

Beca looked to the girl on her left, seeing her world, and remembering the pain they've caused her, and responded, "I know I'll kill the next one I see."

"You shouldn't be so eager to see them again. They're at war, up north. Their entire community, against another. It's why they take people. To make them fight. Train them. Use them. You would join their war," he affirmed.

"That's horrible," Stacie whispered to herself.

"Yes. That's why I helped you."

"Thank you," Beca praised gratefully. She was still thinking about Kommissar, and having to see her and confront her past. She had a feeling that it wouldn't be the last time she was going to encounter her.

"It was difficult. To send the herd in. To save you. I didn't want them to die," Theo divulged with a voice drowning in sorrow. He began poking the firewood with a large stick, making sure silence didn't consume them.

Beca took this as her queue to change subjects, "So, Theo, do you just hang around in the woods, saving random people?"

He didn't look away from the fire, but acknowledged the question, "After I left my group, I wandered. First time alone, ever. Saw war everywhere. First against walkers, then against each other. Hoped it would be better here." A moment later, he asked, "Where are you from? Here? Or somewhere far away?"

"We're both from Georgia," Beca answered.

"Long way from home," Theo replied.

"It feels like forever ago."

"It was," was his grim response.

"So, where are you from?"

"Washington," he huffed.

"The city or the state?" Stacie questioned curiously.

"The city. Dad ran a food truck. I helped."

Their game of twenty questions was cut off by Stacie's sudden heavy breathing. Beca placed her hand on the girl's forehead and deducted, "You've got a fever."

"Her wound will need proper cleaning. And medicine, if you're lucky enough to have any," Theo expressed from across the fire.

"The school has medicine, but I don't think they'll share it."

"That's why those people attacked you, isn't it? To get to that school," he quizzed. "They'll destroy whatever they find. Bring more guns, more fighters. Take everyone inside."

"They won't be able to fight them off," Beca stated. The kids at the school would never stand a chance against an armed troop when all they had were bows and knives.

"You need medicine. You have to go back, or you'll lose her."

"I'll go back. Convince them to help her," Beca stated confidently. She would do anything to ensure Stacie's safety. If the school wouldn't help them, she would find another way. "Hopefully they take us back once they see her."

"You hope… I'll help you get back. Past the walkers. A few more hours and we'll go," he asserted.

Beca turned to Stacie and smiled, "That's a few hours for you to sleep." Stacie didn't need to be told twice, as she closed her eyes the instant she was told, leaning against Beca.

"I'll stay awake. You don't have to," the brown-haired man offered Beca. Seeing her hesitation, he continued, "Sleep. I'll keep watch."

"Okay, I will. What about you?"

"Don't need it, not tonight. Rest well."

Beca felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, sleep sounding more and more comforting, especially after the long, miserable day they've had. "Goodnight," she mumbled before succumbing to sleep.

"Goodnight," Theo whispered to the sleeping pair.

O-o-O-o-O

**Sorry if the flashbacks were too long or if they took up too much of the chapter, but I just wanted to give some background info regarding Kommissar. Mostly, covering how her and Beca met, and how they departed from each other. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**


	8. A Conflicted Reunion

**I just wanted to start this chapter off by thanking you all. We hit 1,000 views on the story! When I was writing the first chapter, I didn't even expect to get 100, so thank you guys so much! Seeing others enjoy the story makes me so happy :) Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

O-o-O-o-O

The river flowed calmly as Theo stepped onto the small wooden bridge. He turned to see Beca, who was struggling to help Stacie walk. He silently waited for them to join him, so they could cross to the other side. Beca's face was riddled with exhaustion, her movements slowing the further they journeyed.

"How is she?" Theo wondered aloud, seeing that Stacie was barely conscious. The tall girl's movements were robotic as she sluggishly followed alongside Beca.

"She's so hot," Beca panted.

"I can help her. You're exhausted," he offered the small brunette.

"No, I've got her," Beca insisted. Theo nodded in response before walking again.

Beca sighed in relief as she saw the gates of the school ahead of the trio. The only obstacles in the way were the booby-trapped trees. The main building of the school peeking through the line of trees.

The three were slowly, but surely, approaching the metal door when Stacie groaned, "Hurts."

"Hang on, we're almost there," Beca assured. She saw Theo looking at them, and came to a realization, "Hey, you should probably take that mask off." The man had put on the walker skin before they started their long, enduring walk.

"I can't," he spoke quietly and shook his head. She didn't really understand his obsession with that thing. They were heading toward a group of people, so deciding to keep the walker costume on wasn't the smartest idea, unless he wanted to get injured.

As she was thinking this, Beca saw Lilly pop up from the watch tower located next to the entrance and yell, "Walker!," as she shot an arrow that pierced the soil in front of Theo. He jumped in surprise before glancing toward the small Asian woman. A look of realization washed over her as she saw Beca and Stacie step forward. "Aubrey! Jesse! They came back!" she yelled behind her before descending the tower.

Beca directed her gaze to the fake walker next to her, "You live out there alone, right? You could stay with us," she offered the strange man.

He was silent as she stared at the arrow that lied at his feet. He looked up to her and said, "Not ready." He then turned and walked back toward the bridge they had just crossed without a glance back.

Beca redirected her energy toward getting them inside the school, but she couldn't keep holding Stacie up. "I can't keep carrying you," she grunted as she forced her foot forward. She was pretty sure her friend was now unconscious, but she couldn't look up to see her, for Stacie's weight was bearing down upon her. Beca's legs were getting heavier with every step, but she used all her might to keep going. "We'll be inside soon," she groaned to herself.

Jesse was seen strutting over to the entrance, crossing his arms over his chest as he stopped in front of the door. His face was scrunched into a look of annoyance as he peered through the metal bars.

Beca continued forward until she couldn't walk anymore; she fell to her knees, but made sure to not drop Stacie. Jesse's demeanor quickly changed into one of concern. He rushed to their side and helped Beca with Stacie, "Shit, is she…?"

"She's alive. She was shot. She's got a fever," Beca explained while climbing up to her feet.

"Come on, let's get her inside," he insisted. He groaned in pain as he picked up Stacie's limp body. Beca looked to her right and saw the bloody wound on his arm, from what she assumes was from the altercation they had with Kommissar yesterday.

Within a minute, they had brought the tall, leggy brunette into the main hall of the staff building where everyone else was located.

"Let me see," Amy demanded. Jesse carried the girl to her, so she could examine her. "I have what I need upstairs. Come on."

Beca followed as they walked up the stairs toward the principal's office, "We got the shrapnel out of her."

"We?" Amy questioned with an arch of her eyebrow.

"It's a long story," she huffed in response.

Jesse lied Stacie on the sofa outside the door, and Amy, Beca, and Aubrey surrounded the unconscious girl. Amy placed her hand on the girl's forehead and claimed, "She's running a fever. Body's trying to fight infection, poor girl."

Beca just stared at Stacie's unmoving body.

"Amy and Jesse will take care of her," Aubrey assured as she rubbed Beca's back. "You come with me. We can talk in the office."

"Becs?" Beca urgently turned to the voice.

"Shh, you just try to rest, okay? We're gonna fix you right up," Amy cut off.

"Beca!" the voice groaned again.

Beca made her way to Stacie's side and knelt down next to her. "Sparrow, listen to Amy, okay? She'll look after you. Come on, what do we do when we're scared? When fear starts to get the upper hand?"

"We tell it to fuck off," they recited together.

"We don't let it take over," Stacie added. "I'm good now," she confirmed with a nod.

"Beca, please. We need to talk," Aubrey prompted impatiently. With one last smile, Beca stood and followed after Aubrey.

Once they made it into the office, Aubrey spoke, "What happened out in the woods, I saw they had you pinned, and I… shit, I got so crazy. I know you think I didn't do enough for you and Stacie, but when I saw you were in danger, I had to do something. I wanted to help you, but when you told us to run, I had to trust you. Thank you for protecting us… it was really brave." As she spoke, she began walking closer to Beca. "I really thought you were dead, Beca. It's just, everything is so fucked right now, you know?" the stunning blonde confessed.

Beca was surprised by Aubrey's words, and without thinking, blurted what was on her mind, "It's really good to see you again!"

"I thought you hated me," Aubrey quietly professed.

"There's nothing that could make me hate you," the brunette confidently returned.

"It's good to see you, too," Aubrey smiled. That smile quickly faded as her mood suddenly shifted, "Just wish Bumper and the others felt the same. Jesse and I told them what happened in the woods. That woman who attacked you, I-"

"Kommissar," Beca interrupted, her voice laced with poison. No matter their past, anyone who hurts Stacie is instantly on her shit list.

"So you do know her. We were wondering," Aubrey concluded. She then walked over to the balcony and stared out into the woods. "Who the hell is she? I mean, I know you're not, like, with her group, but the others don't like the coincidence. Her showing up right after you? I mean…"

Beca felt she had to divulge this information to this girl. She didn't know why, but she found this feeling coming more frequently as time went on. "Kommissar and I were friends. A long time ago."

"Friends?" Aubrey turned and asked.

"Back when the walkers first showed up, we lived in a motor inn. Survived really awful shit. Kommissar tried to keep us all together."

"Looks like she's changed," Aubrey sneered as she strode over to the desk.

"Yeah, seems that way," Beca laughed half-heartedly. "She murdered someone in our group. Gunned them down during an argument. Emily was her name. She refused to let Kommissar push her around." Beca walked in front of the desk so she was directly in front of the other woman. "It was right at the start. I haven't seen her since."

"I believe you," Aubrey confided.

"But?"

"There's something else. Lilly said there was someone with you at the gates?"

"Theo. He saved us, let us stay in his camp for the night," Beca revealed.

"But why did you bring him here? You led him right to us," she spat back forcefully. "I mean, he's a stranger, Beca."

Beca was slightly taken aback by the authoritative tone, but didn't cower, "Look, he's not with the raiders. He lives by himself in the woods."

"Lilly said he was wearing, I don't know. Animal skins or something," Aubrey said in a much more calm and friendly voice.

"He was wearing walker skin. That's how he gets past herds. He can guide them, too." Beca informed. She would never understand why he did it, but she would forever be grateful for his help.

"Ugh. Wow, okay," Aubrey responded as she scrunched her face in disgust.

"I wouldn't have brought him here if I thought he was a threat," the small girl continued.

"It's not that I don't trust you, I'm just worried about the others and what they may do. They didn't even get the chance to mourn Luke and Ashley before all these child-snatching assholes showed up. And then you two come back after we thought you were dead. Now they're confused and no one knows how to feel about Stacie." Aubrey sat in the principal's chair and rubbed her temples.

Aubrey was startled when Beca slammed her hands against the large wooden desk, "Aubrey, Stacie is the least of their worries," she growled.

Aubrey sighed before looking back to Beca, "I know, but everything is such a mess. They're scared and angry, and they're looking for someone to blame. I mean, they kicked you out. How am I supposed to make them change their minds about you? It was decided, five to three against. I know it feels like it shouldn't matter, but they were afraid of you, both of you."

"You're sitting in Luke's chair, aren't you?" Beca asked rhetorically. She was starting to feel the anger rise in her. Aubrey raised an eyebrow at the small outrage, but let her continue, "You're their leader, now. They'll listen to you."

Aubrey shook her head with a frown, "They don't though. They only listen when they want to."

"Well they'll have to start, if they want to survive what's coming!" Beca asserted. Aubrey just stared back at the short alt-girl. There was a moment of silence as they looked at each other. Beca halted the staring contest and stepped over to the balcony. "Theo told me what Kommissar will do next. He said they'll get more people and guns, and come attack us. Take everyone here."

"How the hell would he know?" Aubrey asked curiously.

Beca paced back and forth, stopping to stare at a tattered painting that was hanging on the wall, and gathered her thoughts. "He's watched them for a while. They're at war with another community. They take people to fight for them."

A look of realization spread across Aubrey's face as she rearranged her sitting position in the principal's chair, "Is that what happened to Chloe and Barbara? They turned them into soldiers?"

Beca stopped before saying what she was thinking, but decided to say it anyway. Aubrey needed a wake up call in order to fully understand the situation. "Yes. It'll happen to us, too, if we don't stop them," she claimed boldly. Beca didn't know if it was true, or if Chloe and Barbara were, in fact, enslaved soldiers.

Aubrey just shook her head in response as she looked down to the large wooden desk that was now home to multiple engravings of random scribbles and words. "Chloe didn't even like killing walkers," the blonde sighed.

When it was clear that there would be no further response, Beca returned to the balcony and examined their surroundings. She sat there for a minute, stealing glances at Aubrey every couple seconds, and seeing the girl continue to stare at the desk while tracing the engravings with her fingers.

A tinge of jealousy sprouted from within Beca. She knew that Aubrey was lost in thought about this Chloe girl, and she knew the past those two shared. She knew she didn't have the right to be jealous, but she couldn't help it. Her train of thought was interrupted by something moving in the corner of her eye. She didn't turn, but could tell Aubrey had gotten up from the chair. Her suspicions were confirmed when the beautiful blonde stopped next to her, placing her arms on the railing. Beca was very much aware of the miniscule distance between their bodies, the butterflies residing in Beca's stomach taking flight every time their skin would make contact. Although she enjoyed the closeness between the two, flashes of Aubrey and Chloe passed through her head; visions of things couples would do, such as picnics, watching movies, and cooking for one another. There was no way of knowing what the two had done together or if any of these things actually happened, but Beca couldn't handle it. Her jealousy was rising quickly, and she had to do something about it, so she walked back over to the desk and sat on the front edge, her eyes trained on the large doors they originally entered through.

Aubrey watched with a frown as the small alt-girl walked away.

Beca decided to continue their discussion, hoping it would tame the fire inside of her. "This place is a fortress. With a little work, we could make this place really hard to overrun."

Aubrey took her place opposite of Beca, standing in front of the chair. "Do you actually know how to do that?" she questioned. The chances of successfully defending against an army of armed adults were very slim."

Beca didn't dare look at Aubrey, the fear of seeing those images again stopping her. She played with the brim of her shirt as she answered, "Yeah, we were part of a siege once, in Richmond." Beca's eyes twinkled as she remembered she had the map of the school grounds in her pocket. "Here, let me show you," she said while grabbing the paper map and unfolding it. She laid down the map on the desk in between them, and proceeded to point to the walls surrounding the building, "We've got strong walls. We need to make them hard to climb over, so the raiders have to come in through the gates."

Aubrey looked up, meeting Beca's eyes and stating, "We used to keep barbed wire in the greenhouse."

Beca nodded with a smile, happy that they had already come to a solution to one problem. Moving on to the next point of interest, she laid a finger on the courtyard, "The courtyard's pretty wide open. Not a lot of cover. We should flip the tables, narrow down the pathways through it."

"So we'll know which way they're coming," Aubrey smiled.

Before she knew it, Beca was returning the smile, but quickly chastised herself internally. "At the very least, it'll give us protection if they get past these walls," she replied. Looking back to the map, Beca pointed out the last topic: the main building. "This is where we should make our stand," she claimed. "There's only one way in: the front. And then there's the big central staircase." Aubrey placed her hand on her chin, as if playing the situation in her head, trying to come up with the conclusion it would lead to. Beca saw this and pushed on, "If we rig the path with traps, we can pull back to the building for defense, if needed."

"Luring in the enemy, I like it," Aubrey smirked at Beca causing a hint of red to tinge Beca's cheeks.

Beca cleared her throat in an attempt to hide her blush and weakly chuckled, "Just taking a page from _Home Alone_."

Aubrey looked at Beca, clearly confused, "What?"

Beca slowly rose her head with wide eyes until she made eye contact with the blonde beauty that she currently hated for asking such a disgraceful question. "_Excuse me? You don't know what _Home Alone_ is?_" she yelled a little too aggressively, startling the blonde. Seeing the shocked look on the girl's face across from her, Beca realized what she had just done, and was flooded with embarrassment. "Sorry," she whispered while looking at her feet.

The room became suffocating as the two girls sat in silence, neither moving. The longer they sat there, the more Beca wanted to shrink into a little ball and hide in the corner. Beca's head snapped up as she heard a small noise, and saw Aubrey with her hand to her mouth trying to repress a laugh, but failing rather miraculously. The lanky girl behind the desk suddenly doubled over, flooding the room with laughter, the sound echoing off the old, tattered walls.

"What's so funny?" Beca pouted softly, her blush rising along with her want to die. However, Beca couldn't help but snicker at the sight of the usually uptight blonde losing all self-control. Come to think of it, this is the first time Beca has heard Aubrey actually laugh, and could only hope she would hear it more.

Aubrey clutched her stomach as she took deep breaths, trying to recover from the sudden giggle attack, and smiled at Beca, "Nothing, nothing. You're just so cute."

Beca froze as the words came out of Aubrey's mouth. She couldn't tell if she dreaming or if she was the one who actually got shot, and she was now in heaven. She pinched her arm to confirm that she was, in fact, alive and awake, only to receive a sharp pain. Now that those options were out of the question, the only one left was that she misheard Aubrey. Yeah, she definitely misheard her.

Beca was brought back to reality by more words emerging from the girl who's responsible for making Beca a disheveled mess on the inside, "Beca?"

"Y-yes?" Beca stuttered.

"Can I ask you something?" Aubrey quietly asked.

Beca didn't know where this was coming from, but if she gained any knowledge from watching TV, she knows that this kind of question is usually asked before a confession. They stood, staring into each other's eyes, only the desk separating them. "S-sure," Beca responded almost inaudibly, becoming entranced by the blonde's emerald eyes.

Aubrey didn't respond right away, unintentionally causing Beca's heart to beat faster. Slowly, but surely, a smile started to make its way onto Aubrey's face. "Who hasn't watched _Home Alone_?" she roared as another laughing fit made its appearance.

Beca sat there, unable to move. She was so caught up in the thought that she was about to be confessed to by her crush, that she didn't comprehend what just happened. Beca quickly chastised herself for even thinking Aubrey shared her feelings, and tried to regain her composure. "Well I figured someone like you, who's always grumpy and doesn't like to have fun, wouldn't have seen it," she grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Excuse me!" Aubrey squealed, smacking Beca on the arm. However, as she was swinging her arm, her hand grazed Beca's bra through her shirt, causing a small shriek to come out of Beca's mouth. Her hands darted to cover her mouth and her eyes went wide, only causing Aubrey to laugh even more.

Once the room started to grow quiet, Beca cleared her throat, her cheeks still red. She returned her attention to the map that was laid out between them and pointed to the greenhouse, "Well, you guys don't use the greenhouse anymore, do you?"

"No. We used to," she replied rather vaguely. Her tone became more grim as she revealed, "We lost someone out there. Walkers overran the place, and Luke wouldn't let us go back. Safe zone," she finished, unable to look at Beca.

Beca proceeded, taking the hint that Aubrey didn't want to talk about the past anymore, "We need to get that barbed wire, so they can't climb the walls." After a moment of hesitation, Beca added, "I'll go." She didn't want Aubrey to relive a traumatic experience.

Aubrey finally raised her gaze with a surprised look on her face, "Are you sure? It's going to be swarming with walkers by now."

Before Beca could respond, the doors to the office suddenly burst open, and Bumper came stomping in. "Okay, what the hell's going on?" he demanded to know. "Lilly told me she was back, but I was like, no way. Aubrey wouldn't just go against what we all decided."

All of a sudden, Amy rushed in and closed the doors behind her. "Shh! Would you keep it down? The girl is asleep!" she whispered angrily. She then turned to Beca, "Her fever's already going down, Beca. She's going to be okay." Beca let out a deep breath that she didn't know she was holding.

However, the good news was abruptly interrupted as Bumper continued his rampage, "Great, we're just giving them our medicine, too?"

Aubrey swifty left her position behind the desk and placed herself between Beca and Bumper, knowing his hostility toward the girl. "Bumper, those people who shot Jesse are arming up to attack the school. We need Beca's help," she argued with a voice flowing with venom.

"Like hell we do. For all we know, she's one of them," he claimed in disgust as he looked over Aubrey's shoulder to Beca.

Aubrey took a step forward, getting in Bumper's face, "She's not. If you saw their leader's boot on Beca's neck, you'd know that," the intimidating blonde hissed.

Beca stepped next to Aubrey, rage overflowing, "Use your head Bumper. You saw Stacie on your way in. If I was with the raiders, why would they have hurt her like that?"

Bumper, unfazed by the two girls in his space, spit, "How do I know? Maybe she shot one of their friends."

"Bumper!" Amy yelled.

Aubrey took stride, making Bumper back away until his back hit the door, "Beca's going to the greenhouse to find barbed wire and anything else she thinks we need for the fight, and you're going to help her," she demanded, looking like a real leader.

"Uh, no, I'm not," Bumper rebutted weakly.

"Yes, you are. It's too dangerous for her to go by herself, and you're good in a fight," she howled, pointing her finger into his chest. Aubrey's dominance was clear as she towered over the man, making him shrink as she pierced through his armor with her cold stare.

Amy stepped alongside them with a panicked look on her face, "I can go, too. You know, to keep the peace."

Aubrey nodded gratefully, but was pushed away by Bumper, "Fuck, Aubrey. Since when are you the one making the calls?"

Amy gasped in shock, but Aubrey only took her spot next to Beca and turned around, her intimidation not faltering, "Since no one else stepped the fuck up." You could practically see flames coming from Aubrey's eyes as she seethed at the man in front of her. She then turned to Beca with a much more kind expression, "These two will meet you at the gate, and you can head to the greenhouse once I've explained the situation."

Beca nodded before making her way to the doors. She stopped as she placed her hand on the door handle, and looked to Bumper and Amy who were only a couple feet away, "See you there."

Making her way outside the principal's office, she heard Jesse talking to an unconscious Stacie, "I'm so sorry. Please be okay," he mumbled quietly. He was the only one who remained in the hall, kneeling next to the couch Stacie was asleep on, watching over her. He saw Beca approaching and rose to his feet, "I…" he started, but shook his head and walked away.

Wondering if he was going to apologize or criticize her, Beca took Jesse's spot and grabbed hold of one of Stacie's hands, squeezing it tightly. She honestly expected to get yelled at, just like Bumper did, but nothing came. She would've preferred to get yelled at. She believed she deserved it. Hell, everything up to this point has been her fault because she hasn't become strong enough to protect Stacie. Hell… She couldn't help but think she was already in hell.

O-o-O-o-O

**I'm so so so sorry that I took so long to update this, I honestly have no excuses, but a lot has happened since I posted the last chapter. I'm going to be taking writing more serious now, so I should be updating this more frequently. To make up for it, here's a chapter that's basically just Mitchsen interaction. Also, I'm sorry this story is such a slow burner, but it's going to be a pretty long one. Anyway, for anyone that actually comes back to this, I love y'all 3**


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